About one-third of U.S. physicians have been a defendant or co-defendant in a malpractice lawsuit at some point in their career, according to a new report from Medscape.
Medscape’s “Physicians and Malpractice Report 2026,” published Sept. 22, collected data from more than 1,100 full- and part-time physicians across nearly 30 specialties.
Here are 10 findings from the report:
- Constant or frequent worry about malpractice exposure during patient interactions has dropped almost 10% since Medscape’s 2024 malpractice report. Only 24% of physicians overall now report that level of worry, but it’s far more common in high-risk specialties — 42% of emergency medicine physicians and 39% of OB-GYNs said they worry constantly or frequently.
- The share of physicians who’ve ever been named as a defendant is 33%. Primary care physicians are slightly less likely to have been a defendant in malpractice lawsuits compared to specialists.
- Malpractice claims frequency was 4.6% in 2025, down significantly from the average of 27% between 1991 and 2005.
- There are four specialties with a 50% or higher malpractice risk. OB-GYN and general surgery are the highest-risk specialties at 63%. Orthopedics has a 62% malpractice risk, followed by emergency medicine at 50%.
- Malpractice risk also varies by geography, as New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida were ranked as the states with the most reported malpractice lawsuits.
- Physicians named in a malpractice lawsuit are increasingly a “one and done” case rather than repeat defendants, a pattern that has grown more common since 2023. Of physicians who have been a defendant in a malpractice lawsuit, 53% have been named only one time. Only 3% of physicians have been named in more than five malpractice lawsuits.
- About three-quarters of malpractice awards and settlements have been $500,000 or less. Just 8% of lawsuits have payouts between $1 million and $2 million, and 4% of malpractice lawsuits have had awards or settlements exceeding $2 million.
- Among physicians who’ve faced a malpractice claim, 30% said the experience made them lose trust in patients and 8% said it drove them to leave their practice setting altogether. About half of physicians took steps to reduce their risk for future malpractice claims.
- Among physicians who are employed, 11% of physicians paid for a portion or all of their malpractice insurance premiums.
- Physicians’ most common defense against malpractice risk remains improving communication with patients, followed by screening cases with a medical panel and capping non-economic damages.
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