California Medical Malpractice Information
- What is the average medical malpractice settlement in California?
The average medical malpractice payment in California for 2024 was $352,006. Going back to 2004, the average malpractice payment in the database is $195,480.
- How many medical malpractice settlements have there been in California?
In 2024, there were 1100 medical malpractice payments made in California. Among all of the various jurisdictions, this ranked number 3 out of 52 in terms of raw numbers, but when viewed in terms of claims per capita, California ranked number 30 of 52, which includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
- What is the most common type of medical malpractice claim in California?
Across the country, the most common allegations giving rise to medical malpractice payments are "Failure to Diagnose" and "Improper Performance." California is among those jurisdictions for which the top allegation appearing in the database is "Improper Performance." The second most frequent allegation appearing for California in the database is "Failure to Diagnose."
- Which type of healthcare provider pays the most medical malpractice claims in California?
Among all claims, the vast majority (about 70%) of the payments are associated with care provided by MDs. California is no exception. The second highest type of healthcare provider associated with malpractice claims in California is a dentist.
Trend Analysis
California's graph shows a remarkable drop in the overall number of claims over time. Possible reasons for this include significant tort reform measures that have been in place for several decades. While the raw numbers of payments tend to be large, it is important to remember how many people live in California. Per capita, California is in the bottom half in terms of its number of malpractice payments.
The average payment amount has been around $200K for many years before a sudden spike in 2024. Taking 2024 out, it is clear that the size of malpractice payments has not kept up with inflation over the last 20 years.
With respect to 2024, the database has three of the largest payments ever recorded in the state's history all in that same year for failure to identify fetal distress. Those types of claims can be associated with tremendous damages and it is likely that all three of those payments are associated with the same event as the database reflects an event in 2012/2013 for all three payments and that the payments were made on behalf of a nurse midwife and two different MDs. If all three payments were connected, that one claim exceeding $75M in total would have a tremendous impact on the overall average, even in a state as large as California.
The Largest Medical Malpractice Payments for California (2004-2024)
California Statistics at a Glance
Average Payment (2004-2025): $195,480
Total Payments in Database (2004-2025): 27,378
Average Payment (2024): $352,006
Total Number of Payments (2024): 1,100
Rank in Average Payment (2004-2025): 48
Rank in Number of Payments Per Capita (2024): 30 of 52 Jurisdictions
Most Common Allegation (2024): Improper Performance
Most Common Allegation (2023): Improper Performance
Most Common Nature of Claim (2024): Treatment Related - 34% of all payments
Type of Provider with Most Payments: Physician (MD)