BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

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Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
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Medical malpractice trials
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 Medical Malpractice Trials In State Courts

  • During 2005 an estimated 2,449 medical malpractice cases were disposed of by bench or jury trial in state courts of general jurisdiction throughout the country. A jury decided about 99% of these trials.
  • Plaintiffs prevailed in less than a quarter of medical malpractice trials.
  • Medical malpractice jury trials garnered relatively high median damage awards. The awards in medical malpractice jury trials ($400,000) were 17 times greater than the overall median awards in tort jury trials. These high award amounts may be partially explained by the fact that allegations of wrongful death were asserted in two-fifths of medical malpractice jury trials with plaintiff winners.

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Publications & Products


Medical Malpractice Insurance Claims in Seven States, 2000-2004 "Majority of medical malpractice claims in seven states closed without compensation payments"
  Press Release | More information about this release

Medical Malpractice Insurance Claims in Seven States, 2000-2004 Focuses on medical malpractice claims that were closed in the states of Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas from 2000 to 2004.
  Press Release | Full report (PDF 190K) | ASCII file (31K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 14K)

Civil Trial Cases and Verdicts in Large Counties, 2001 & Medical Malpractice Trials and Verdicts in Large Counties, 2001 "Plaintiffs won 55 percent of civil trials in the Nation's 75 most populous counties during 2001"
  Press Release | Civil Trial Cases and Verdicts in Large Counties, 2001 (More information about this release) | Medical Malpractice Trials and Verdicts in Large Counties, 2001 (More information about this release)

Medical Malpractice Trials and Verdicts in Large Counties, 2001 Presents findings on medical malpractice cases disposed of by jury and bench trial in general jurisdiction courts in the Nation's 75 largest counties during 2001.
  Press Release | Full report (PDF 177K) | ASCII file (4K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 6K)

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