A physician's average cost for defending a malpractice claim was more than $47,000 and the average payout was almost $332,000 in 2010, according to a report from the American Medical Association.
AMA report highlights cost of malpractice claims

Researchers analyzed financial data, claim disposition and policy limits from a sample of medical liability claims that closed between 2001 and 2010 and were aggregated by Physician Insurers of America.
The report also stated that in 2010, 63.7% of all closed claims were either dropped, withdrawn or dismissed—but still cost almost $27,000 to defend and accounted for more than one-third of total defense expenses for the year.
Another AMA report analyzed malpractice insurance premiums from 2004-2011 that appeared in annual rate surveys published by the Medical Liability Monitor.
The report highlights how rates continue to climb and how obstetricians/gynecologists and surgeons in New York are now paying premiums of almost $207,000 and $129,000 respectively.
The reports are part of the AMA Policy Research Perspective series and are available to AMA members.
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