Medical Malpractice Payouts by State
Last updated
Every number below comes from 529,804 real malpractice payments reported to the federal National Practitioner Data Bank between 2000 and 2025 — $136,440,709,250 in total. National average: $257,531. National median: $97,500.
Highest-paying states
- 1Massachusetts$403,669
- 2Illinois$403,556
- 3Connecticut$397,592
- 4District of Columbia$367,288
- 5Hawaii$350,646
Lowest-paying states
- 1Michigan$121,042
- 2California$140,946
- 3Kansas$146,925
- 4Utah$172,540
- 5Texas$174,475
All 50 states + DC, ranked by average payment
Median = half of that state's payments were below this line. ⛔ = state caps non-economic damages.
| # | State | Average | Median | Payments | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $403,669 | $185,000 | 10,019 | — |
| 2 | Illinois | $403,556 | $195,000 | 17,138 | — |
| 3 | Connecticut | $397,592 | $155,000 | 5,298 | — |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $367,288 | $145,000 | 1,575 | — |
| 5 | Hawaii | $350,646 | $97,500 | 1,273 | — |
| 6 | Georgia | $338,498 | $145,000 | 9,654 | — |
| 7 | Alabama | $331,149 | $125,000 | 2,254 | — |
| 8 | Alaska | $323,369 | $97,500 | 711 | — |
| 9 | New York | $318,749 | $145,000 | 60,715 | — |
| 10 | New Jersey | $314,350 | $145,000 | 19,899 | — |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $313,571 | $135,000 | 1,848 | — |
| 12 | Maine | $311,270 | $125,000 | 1,271 | — |
| 13 | Delaware | $305,341 | $145,000 | 1,038 | — |
| 14 | Wisconsin | $301,445 | $67,500 | 3,466 | ⛔ |
| 15 | New Hampshire | $298,584 | $135,000 | 1,726 | — |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | $284,079 | $195,000 | 36,822 | — |
| 17 | Maryland | $282,063 | $125,000 | 8,352 | ⛔ |
| 18 | Oregon | $280,609 | $92,500 | 3,710 | — |
| 19 | Minnesota | $277,910 | $72,500 | 3,256 | — |
| 20 | South Dakota | $266,451 | $77,500 | 828 | ⛔ |
| 21 | North Carolina | $264,505 | $105,000 | 6,386 | ⛔ |
| 22 | Arizona | $263,148 | $125,000 | 7,832 | — |
| 23 | Virginia | $259,493 | $125,000 | 6,373 | ⛔ |
| 24 | Idaho | $255,821 | $77,500 | 1,196 | ⛔ |
| 25 | Missouri | $254,131 | $115,000 | 8,259 | — |
| 26 | Nevada | $251,269 | $97,500 | 2,926 | ⛔ |
| 27 | Ohio | $237,551 | $97,500 | 15,149 | ⛔ |
| 28 | Washington | $237,147 | $67,500 | 7,923 | — |
| 29 | Arkansas | $236,582 | $105,000 | 2,242 | — |
| 30 | Oklahoma | $234,593 | $97,500 | 4,833 | ⛔ |
| 31 | Tennessee | $232,049 | $87,500 | 5,658 | ⛔ |
| 32 | West Virginia | $230,449 | $97,500 | 4,000 | ⛔ |
| 33 | Florida | $229,750 | $145,000 | 35,568 | ⛔ |
| 34 | Iowa | $226,979 | $77,500 | 3,394 | — |
| 35 | Wyoming | $225,238 | $82,500 | 709 | — |
| 36 | Colorado | $224,486 | $72,500 | 5,238 | ⛔ |
| 37 | Kentucky | $224,194 | $82,500 | 5,355 | — |
| 38 | Mississippi | $210,163 | $97,500 | 3,147 | ⛔ |
| 39 | South Carolina | $208,632 | $97,500 | 4,631 | ⛔ |
| 40 | New Mexico | $207,833 | $97,500 | 3,910 | — |
| 41 | Montana | $201,083 | $87,500 | 1,753 | ⛔ |
| 42 | Indiana | $198,958 | $77,500 | 9,016 | ⛔ |
| 43 | North Dakota | $196,754 | $77,500 | 634 | — |
| 44 | Louisiana | $185,325 | $87,500 | 9,726 | ⛔ |
| 45 | Vermont | $178,777 | $62,500 | 765 | — |
| 46 | Nebraska | $177,499 | $97,500 | 2,315 | ⛔ |
| 47 | Texas | $174,475 | $97,500 | 28,613 | ⛔ |
| 48 | Utah | $172,540 | $47,500 | 3,604 | ⛔ |
| 49 | Kansas | $146,925 | $97,500 | 4,496 | ⛔ |
| 50 | California | $140,946 | $27,500 | 53,536 | ⛔ |
| 51 | Michigan | $121,042 | $72,500 | 19,512 | ⛔ |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which state has the highest medical malpractice payouts?
Massachusetts leads with an average payment of $403,669 across 10,019 recorded payments (median $185,000).
How much does the average medical malpractice case pay?
Across 529,804 NPDB payment records from 2000–2025, the national average is $257,531 and the median is $97,500. The median is the more honest number — a small share of catastrophic cases pulls the average up.
Do damage caps change what cases pay?
Yes, measurably: in the 24 states with caps on non-economic damages, the average payment is $216,979, versus $291,519 in states without caps — a 34.4% difference.
Where does this data come from?
The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), the federal repository of every malpractice payment made on behalf of a licensed practitioner. Our study dataset carries the DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19495953 and is free to cite with attribution.