Illinois Medical Malpractice Payments

Illinois accounts for 3.2% of all NPDB malpractice payments nationwide, with 17,138 total payment reports totaling $6.9B. The state ranks #5 nationally by total payout volume.

The average malpractice payment in Illinois is $404K, which is 57% above the national average of $258K. The median payment is $195K, compared to the national median of $98K. This significantly higher average suggests Illinois sees more severe malpractice cases or has conditions that lead to higher jury awards and settlements.

The largest single payment in Illinois’s NPDB records is $37.5M. Payments of this magnitude typically involve catastrophic outcomes — permanent brain injury, wrongful death, or birth injuries requiring lifetime care.

Illinois does not cap medical malpractice damages. This means there is no statutory limit on non-economic damages (pain and suffering) in malpractice cases. States without caps average $292K per payment, compared to $217K in cap states — a 34% higher average.

This analysis is based on the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Public Use Data File, maintained by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The NPDB contains every medical malpractice payment report filed in the United States since September 1, 1990.

Our dataset covers 529,804 payment reports from 2000 through 2025, totaling $136.4B in payments. State attribution is based on the practitioner’s work state at the time of the incident.

Important Caveats

• Payments include settlements, judgments, and arbitration awards — not all represent proven malpractice.
• The NPDB does not capture cases settled without payment or dismissed claims.
• State-level averages can be heavily influenced by a small number of very large payments.
• Damage caps affect the maximum recoverable amount and therefore the average, but not the case count.