For the first time in 10 years, there was an increase in the total medical malpractice payout amounts in 2013, according to new data from Diederich Healthcare, a medical malpractice insurance company. As recorded by the National Practitioner Data Bank, the increase in actual dollars in 2013 was $168 million more than 2012 (a 4.7% increase), which is close to the amounts of payouts in 2009. As usual, most of the payout are a result of settlements (96%) instead of judgments.
