Study Shows Med-Mal Jury Awards Up Slightly, Compensatory Awards Down Substantially

Jury awards for medical-malpractice claims rose fractionally, while awards for all personal-injury liabilities fell significantly, according to Jury Verdict Research’s latest report, Current Award Trends in Personal Injury.

After steadily climbing more than 100% from 1996 to 2000, the compensatory jury-award median for medical-malpractice cases has leveled off the last three years studied. The percentage of $1 million or more medical-malpractice verdicts remained the same from 1999 through 2002 at 52%.

National Compensatory Jury-Award Median
in Medical-Malpractice Cases

Year Median
—- ——
2002 $1,010,858
2001 $1,000,000
2000 $1,000,000
1999 $ 712,500
1998 $ 700,000
1997 $ 500,000
1996 $ 473,055

While the medical-malpractice plaintiff recovery rate (ratio of plaintiff verdicts to total verdicts) was up two percentage points in 2002, defendants still won the majority of those cases.

Plaintiff Recovery Rate
(ratio of plaintiff verdicts to total verdicts)

Medical
Malpractice Diagnosis Surgical Childbirth
Year (Overall) Negligence Negligence Negligence
—- ——— ———- ———- ———-
2002 42% 43% 41% 60%
2001 40% 43% 40% 55%
2000 37% 37% 45% 34%
1999 35% 33% 32% 45%
1998 33% 33% 30% 43%
1997 35% 33% 39% 35%
1996 29% 27% 30% 34%

“From the jury-award median to the plaintiff recovery rate to the percentage of million-dollar awards, our med-mal statistics have remained relatively flat the last few years,” said Jennifer Shannon, Jury Verdict Research managing editor. “It’s safe to say the trend is no trend, according to our latest figures.”

On the other hand, the overall compensatory jury-award median for personal-injury cases fell 30% in 2002.

National Compensatory Jury-Award Median in
Personal-Injury Cases

Year Median
—- ——
2003 $30,000
2002 $42,945
2001 $45,000
1999 $29,983
1998 $38,000
1997 $38,604
1996 $36,250

The 48-page study of personal-injury jury awards also reported the compensatory jury-award median for premises-liability cases was up less than 1% to $150,000, while the plaintiff recovery rate declined four points to 49% in 2002. The products-liability jury-award median dropped 7% to $1.8 million, but the plaintiff success rate jumped five points to 61%.

Since 1965, Current Award Trends in Personal Injury has analyzed jury-award and settlement trends for selected injuries and liabilities. Based on more than 213,000 nationwide personal-injury plaintiff and defense verdicts and settlements, the 43rd Edition also includes:

— jury-award averages and probability ranges;

— the median number of months from incident to trial date;

— jury-award trends for frequently claimed injuries including back strains, head injuries and wrongful death;

— the median final offer and demand;

— state-specific jury-award data.

To order or for more information, call 1-800-341-7874; visit www.juryverdictresearch.com; or e-mail custserve@lrp.com.