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Plaintiff Winners Were Awarded $1 Million Or More In About A Quarter Of Malpractice Trials Brought Against Surgeons

Of the 1,021 malpractice trials for which the type ofdefendant was known, 900 or 88% dealt with medical  malpractice, and 121 or 12% dealt with professional malpractice in the 75 largest counties during 1996.  Overall, plaintiffs won more often in malpractice trials brought against professional defendants (41%) such as attorneys, than they did against medical professionals(26%) such as doctors or  dentists. The median award in medical malpractice trials ($318,000) was higher than the median award in professional malpractice trials ($86,000) that generally do not entail personal injury. Median award amounts were higher among plaintiffs who won malpractice trials against medical doctors, both surgeons ($398,000) and nonsurgeons ($390,000), than against dentists ($80,000) or attorneys ($58,000). Plaintiff winners were awarded $1 million or more in about a quarter of malpractice trials brought against surgeons. Such high award amounts were rare, however, when plaintiffs won against dentists, attorneys, or other professionals. Note: Data on final awards were available for 98.6% of sampled medical malpractice trials and 100% of sampled professional malpractice trials in which the type of defendant and the winner was known. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. A Data on type of defendant were known for 76.3% of the sampled medical
malpractice trials in which the winner was known.

Data on type of defendant were known for 69.0% of the sampled professional malpractice trials in which the winner was known. Juries and judges awarded an estimated $2 billion dollars to plaintiff winners in general jurisdiction courts in the Nation’s 75 largest counties during 1996. The median award was an estimated $31,000. Final award amounts may include compensatory awards for economic damages associated with actualfinancial losses, noneconomic damages related to, for instance, emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience, or mental anguish, and punitive damages which are intended to punish defendants whose actions were grossly negligent or intentional.5 Half of plaintiff winners received $18,000 or more in automobile accident cases and about $22,000 in slander/libel cases. The median final award of $30,000 in tort jury trials and $34,000 in tort bench trials did not differ statistically. Final damages of over $250,000 were awarded to 17% of plaintiff winners of tort trials in the Nation’s 75 largest counties during 1996. About 6% of plaintiff winners were awarded over $1 million. Awards of over $1 million were received by plaintiff winners in 24% of other product liability jury trials and 22% of medical malpractice jury trials. 6 Tort Trials and Verdicts in Large Counties, 1996 Note: Data for case type and final awards were available for 98.8% of all sampled trial cases. Final amount awarded includes both compensatory (reduced for contributory negligence) and punitive damage awards. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. No cases recorded in the sample. All tort trials include bench and jury trials, trials with a directed verdict, judgments notwithstanding the verdict, and jury trials for defaulted defendants.