According to a recent report which analyzed figures from 2018, insurance companies in Missouri paid losses on 179 medical malpractice claims for a total of almost $52.5 million dollars. This was actually a 4% drop in loss payments when compared to 2017. By contrast, Kansas had 144 payouts. However, the total paid was $25.74 million, which marked a 3% increase.
Across the country carriers paid just over $4 billion in medical malpractice claims. The vast majority, over 95% of these payouts, came following a pre-trial settlement of the claim. Nationwide statistics revealed some other interesting facts about the state of medical malpractice claims in this country as well. Almost one out three of all payouts, 30%, came in the wake of a patient’s untimely death. Additionally, almost 19% of payouts ended after a patient suffered a major and permanent injury due to alleged malpractice, and about 18.5% of payouts followed a significant injury.
Among patients receiving payouts in 2018, 44% were men and 56% were women. When it came to the age of successful claimants, those in the 50-59 age bracket accounted for the highest dollar figure, with almost $76.25 million being paid.
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis continued to account for a large share of the dollars paid out in claims. Out of all payouts, over 34% were due to negligent diagnoses. Among all the states, Missouri claimants actually received healthy payouts from claims, collectively higher than many if not most other states. Kansas, on the other hand, experienced relatively low payouts in terms of dollars.
The good news behind these numbers is that Kansas City residents do have a realistic possibility of getting the compensation they need and deserve after falling victim to medical malpractice.
