Malpractice awards of over $10 million are being doled out more frequently in recent years, the American Medical Association reported Jan. 2.
Here are six takeaways from the report:
1. According to an AMA report released in February 2025, there are 22 states where at least 50% of reported malpractice insurance premiums rose between 2023 and 2024, mirroring the rise in malpractice awards.
2. In 2024, the average of the top 50 medical malpractice verdicts in the U.S. was $56 million, according to The Doctors Co., a medical liability insurer. That’s up from $32 million in 2022 and $48 million in 2023, according to the AMA.
3. Malpractice costs are also being driven by what the AMA describes as social inflation, which is being caused by:
- Loss in public trust of healthcare systems after COVID-19
- Increased corporate consolidation of healthcare facilities
- Shifts in jury perspectives. Interview with jurors have shown that they are interested in compensating plaintiffs even if there has been no negligence, according to the AMA.
- Large numbers losing significance. Because the sums of malpractice awards have increased, jurors are desensitized to the gravity of $10, $20 or even $100 million.
4. The “reptile theory,” which is based on an appeal to the jury’s deep-seated survival tactics, is partially to blame for increased malpractice awards, according to the AMA. Plaintiffs utilizing the reptile theory do not just argue as to how a physician may have failed to meet the standard of care for a particular patient, but how such performance might put others in danger.
5. Another legal technique, called “anchoring” is a contributor to increased malpractice awards, according to the AMA. Anchoring occurs when a plaintiffs’ attorney asks for verdicts that are far beyond what they believe the jury will award. The result is an award that is larger than what the jury would have awarded if they hadn’t heard the higher, anchor figure.
6. According to the AMA, some plaintiffs’ attorneys utilize “threatening remarks” to bully physicians in malpractice cases. The report outlines an example in which an attorney tells a physician: “If you don’t settle, we may have to look to your private assets over your policy limits to compensate my client. You’ll put your home, savings, personal property, savings for your kids’ tuition, investments and other personal assets at risk.”
