Medical Malpractice

Last reviewed: October 2026 · How we research: How We Research Two patients suffer the same surgical error, with the same lifelong pain. One lives in New York, the other in Texas. If a jury awards each of them $2 million for pain and suffering, the New York patient can keep the full award, while

Last reviewed: October 2026 · How we research: How We Research Finding out that your baby was injured during birth is overwhelming. Alongside the medical worries, many parents are left with a question nobody at the hospital answers directly: could this have been prevented? Most births go well, and many complications happen even with excellent

Last reviewed: October 2026 · How we research: How We Research Putting a parent or grandparent in a nursing home is a decision built on trust: that staff will feed them, move them, give the right medication and keep them safe. When that trust is broken, the signs are often small at first. There may

Last reviewed: October 2026 · How we research: How We Research You went to a doctor with real symptoms. You were told it was nothing serious, or given the wrong diagnosis, and sent home. Weeks or months later, another doctor found the real problem, and by then it was harder to treat. That situation is

Last reviewed: October 2026 · How we research: How We Research Malpractice payments reported, 2025 ≈11,550 Average payment, 2025 (approx.) ≈$457,000 Median payment, 2000–2025 $97,500 Every malpractice payment made on behalf of a U.S. doctor or other licensed practitioner must be reported to the federal National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). Analyses of its public data

Last reviewed: October 2026 · How we research: How We Research A bad medical outcome is not automatically malpractice. Treatment can fail, surgery can have known complications, and a disease can progress even when every doctor did everything right. Medical malpractice is narrower: it is negligent care by a health care provider that causes harm.