Misdiagnosis Lawsuits: Verdict Data
Jury Verdict Research published a study this month that found that medical malpractice plaintiffs receive an average of $983,769 for being "incorrectly diagnosed with a serious illness resulting in fear or unnecessary treatment." For once, the median is not far behind the average. The median misdiagnosis verdict was $843,362.
To provide a contrast, the study also provided the most recent national data for medical malpractice verdicts. The average medical malpractice verdict in the United States over the last 11 years is $713,457. The median malpractice verdict is $196,500. Approximately 15% of malpractice awards exceed $1,000,000 which certainly inflates the average, although a number of these verdicts are not collectable because of either caps on noneconomic damages or because the doctor did not maintain malpractice insurance.
Comments
Thanks for disclosing this type of important Medical Malpractice data. It seems like comparing the national data from the Maryland data is like comparing apples and oranges.
The Maryland data pertains to misdiagnosis and the National data refers to all Medical Malpractice Verdicts.
Posted by: Personal Injury Attorney in Rhode Island | November 13, 2010 12:22 PM
Lucky us that incorrect diagnosis does not end up in "medical malpractice" suits that often considering how often physicians have an incorrect diagnosis. Doctors rarely agree on the diagnosis. How often can they be right?
Posted by: Agape Chiropractic | November 21, 2010 4:49 PM