Malpractice payouts reach new low

The number of doctors’ malpractice payments made in 2009 dropped for the fifth consecutive year.

There aren’t just fewer payments — they’re getting smaller. When adjusted for inflation, the value of the payouts was at its lowest value since 1992. Those figures come from the National Practitioner Data Bank.

The trend stands in stark contrast to the rapid rise in health care spending and seems to punch a sizable hole in the argument that malpractice claims are a key reason health care costs are increasing.