Physicians in some states are much more likely to face a malpractice lawsuit than colleagues in other states, according to data released by the National Practitioner Data Bank.
Diederich Healthcare, a medical malpractice insurance placement company, and Zippia, a company that provides career information and tools for professionals across multiple industries, have broken down that data by approximate total payouts per state in 2015, the percent change from 2014 and the number of malpractice suits filed per 100,000 residents per state in 2015, respectively.
Below is a state-by-state breakdown of medical malpractice suits and payouts, arranged by most to least suits filed per 100,000 residents.
1. Louisiana
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 44.1
Total payout: $59 million (0.73 percent decrease)
2. Oklahoma
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 36.3
Total payout: $32.5 million (10.69 percent decrease)
3. Delaware
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 35.2
Total payout: $11.6 million (16.16 percent decrease)
4. Wyoming
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 34
Total payout: $7.5 million (4.28 percent decrease)
5. Tennessee
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 33
Total payout: $45.9 million (20.6 percent decrease)
6. Arkansas
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 32.2
Total payout: $19.6 million (21.46 percent decrease)
7. New Jersey
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 30.4
Total payout: $256.3 million (4.59 percent increase)
8. Maine
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 30.2
Total payout: $16.8 million (30.15 percent decrease)
9. West Virginia
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 29.6
Total payout: $50.2 million (65.25 percent decrease)
10. Alabama
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 29.5
Total payout: $20.2 million (56.37 percent decrease)
11. Washington
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 29
Total payout: $49.1 million (27.37 percent decrease)
12. Missouri
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 28.8
Total payout: $66.9 million (37.44 percent increase)
13. Oregon
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 28.6
Total payout: $42.9 million (4.95 percent increase)
14. Ohio
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 27.5
Total payout: $88.7 million (21.64 percent increase)
15. Nebraska
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 25.6
Total payout: $13.7 million (17.18 percent decrease)
16. Texas
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 25.4
Total payout: $75.9 million (23.74 percent decrease)
17. Colorado
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 24.4
Total payout: $43.9 million (11.2 percent decrease)
18. Arizona
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 24.4
Total payout: $71.5 million (12.92 percent increase)
19. Michigan
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 23.3
Total payout: $71.6 million (8.19 percent decrease)
20. Vermont
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 23.2
Total payout: $5.3 million (52.67 percent increase)
21. Virginia
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 23
Total payout: $56.7 million (1.23 percent decrease)
22. Pennsylvania
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 22.7
Total payout: $374 million (6.8 percent increase)
23. Alaska
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 21.8
Total payout: $5.7 million (31.06 percent decrease)
24. North Dakota
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 21.5
Total payout: $2.8 million (264.99 percent)
25. Kentucky
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 21.5
Total payout: $42.8 million (20.63 percent decrease)
26. Maryland
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 21.1
Total payout: $108.6 million (19.62 percent decrease)
27. Indiana
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 20.7
Total payout: $53.3 million (45.62 percent decrease)
28. Rhode Island
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 20.6
Total payout: $17.9 million (30.23 percent increase)
29. Kansas
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 19.7
Total payout: $23.3 million (20 percent decrease)
30. New York
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 19.3
Total payout: $711.7 million (4.22 percent decrease)
31. South Carolina
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 18.8
Total payout: $42 million (43.69 percent increase)
32. Nevada
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 18.7
Total payout: $25.2 million (72.58 percent increase)
33. New Mexico
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 17.9
Total payout: $50.8 million (41.8 percent increase)
34. Minnesota
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 17.7
Total payout: $48 million (163.29 percent increase)
35. Mississippi
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 16.9
Total payout: $17.1 million (12.98 percent increase)
36. California
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 16.9
Total payout: $263.8 million (19.17 percent increase)
37. Wisconsin
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 16.9
Total payout: $14.1 million (34.56 percent decrease)
38. Connecticut
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 16.4
Total payout: $85.8 million (38.86 percent increase)
39. Florida
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 16.2
Total payout: $248.9 million (14.29 percent increase)
40. Massachusetts
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 15.3
Total payout: $205 million (13.61 percent increase)
41. Iowa
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 15.2
Total payout: $17.9 million (20.01 percent decrease)
42. Utah
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 15
Total payout: $16.4 million (36.80 percent decrease)
43. Montana
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 14.8
Total payout: $8.2 million (5.11 percent decrease)
44. Illinois
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 14.3
Total payout: $258.2 million (23.81 percent increase)
45. Idaho
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 13.6
Total payout: $8.5 million (30.49 percent decrease)
46. New Hampshire
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 13.4
Total payout: $13.9 million (31.08 percent decrease)
47. South Dakota
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 12.1
Total payout: $5.7 million (71.45 percent decrease)
48. Georgia
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 11.3
Total payout: $111.5 million (6.26 percent increase)
49. North Carolina
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 10
Total payout: $51.4 million (23.33 percent increase)
50. Hawaii
Malpractice suits per 100,000 residents: 4.9
Total payout: $6.2 million (48.96 percent decrease)