United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics

“ By comparison, the median insurance payouts for claimants who suffered emotional, insignificant, or minor temporary injuries ranged from $5,000 in Missouri to $64,000 in Illinois.
The median insurance payouts in medical malpractice cases with wrongful death claims were lower than in cases in which the claimant suffered major or grave injuries. Since wrongful death claims would not involve more costly long term medical care, they often result in less compensation than claims in which long term medical care is needed. ”

“ Another important issue is whether the states collect data for claims that did not result in any compensation being awarded to the claimants. Florida and Massachusetts do not collect data on claims closed without an insurance payout. Texas collects only aggregate statistics on claims closed without an insurance payout or claims closed with insurance payouts of $10,000 or less. Detailed medical malpractice data in Texas are collected only for those medical malpractice cases closed with insurance payouts of more than $10,000. ”

“ In a typical medical malpractice claim, the person claiming an injury or a related family member retains an attorney to file a claim with the medical provider's insurance carrier requesting compensation for the injury. After a claim is filed, the insurance carrier may settle, negotiate with the claimant over the amount of compensation, or refuse to compensate the claimant. If the parties do not come to an agreement, the claimant's attorney may file a lawsuit in the appropriate court or abandon the claim. ”