A state-by-state breakdown of medical malpractice suits

Laura Dyrda (Twitter) -

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)

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