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Why Is It So Hard to Find Quality Medical Malpractice Verdict Data?

By Eric Frisch
August 02, 2014

Medical malpractice practitioners on all sides are familiar with the theories and arguments for and against “tort reform.” The basic premise in support of tort reform is that high verdicts in medical malpractice cases lead to defensive medicine, an outflow of qualified providers from the market, and increased insurance costs passed on to consumers. The opposition counters that insurance costs are increased because of investment decisions; that there is no real “crisis;” that reform is a euphemism for denying a right to a jury trial; and that the real incidence of malpractice is under-reported and under-compensated.

I will not take a position in this article on the merits of the debate. Rather, I raise the question of why, in 2014, quality data regarding the true frequency and severity of malpractice verdicts is missing. In an era of incredible “big data,” the medical malpractice practitioner should ask, “Why are there no accurate, reliable, and statistically valid measurements of malpractice verdicts by subject and jurisdiction?”

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