Medical Malpractice Statistics

San Antonio enjoys a rich history of medical professionals serving our community at the highest levels. Even among the most skilled professionals, however, mistakes are made that have tragic results in the lives of people who entrust their medical care to physicians and dentists.

Medical malpractice results when a health care provider, either by their actions or failure to act, is found to be negligent. This results in treatments or procedures that fail to meet the accepted standards expected of the medical community. Medical malpractice may result in serious injury or even death to a patient and have life-altering effects on the patient and their family. The attorneys at Carabin Shaw assist those affected by medical malpractice every day to help families who are affected by the negligence of health care providers.

Medical errors and preventable patient harm have been studied for decades. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine's landmark report *To Err Is Human* estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 people died each year in hospitals as a result of preventable medical errors. Later research produced substantially higher estimates. A 2016 analysis published in *The BMJ* estimated that medical error could be associated with more than 250,000 deaths per year in the United States. However, medical error is not included as a separate category on death certificates or in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's official rankings of leading causes of death, and researchers continue to debate the number of deaths attributable to preventable medical errors.

The National Practitioner Data Bank provides one of the nation's largest sources of information concerning medical malpractice payments and adverse actions involving health care practitioners. The NPDB contains approximately 529,000 medical malpractice payment reports nationwide through the end of 2025. Its current Public Use Data File contains reports dating from September 1990 through June 30, 2026.

Some of the most recent National Practitioner Data Bank information shows the continuing scope of medical malpractice claims:

• The NPDB contains approximately 529,000 medical malpractice payment reports nationwide.
• Medical malpractice payment reports involve physicians, dentists, nurses and other licensed health care practitioners.
• The NPDB collects information concerning payments made for the benefit of health care practitioners in connection with written medical malpractice claims or judgments.
• The NPDB also contains approximately 1.35 million adverse action reports involving health care practitioners.
• Medical malpractice payment and adverse action information in the NPDB dates back to 1990.
• The NPDB Public Use Data File is updated quarterly, providing substantially more current information than the medical malpractice statistics previously reported for 1990-2003.
• The current NPDB Public Use Data File contains report information through June 30, 2026.

(all medical malpractice statistics from the National Practitioner Data Bank, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

If you're in San Antonio and have experienced an injury or suffered the loss of a loved one in the course of receiving medical care, you may be able to seek compensation through a medical malpractice claim. There are several legal issues that must be established by an attorney to determine if a health care provider was negligent.

• First, it must be determined that the health care provider(s) had a legal duty to treat the patient.
• Second, it must be proven that the health care provider(s) failed to meet their responsibility to the patient.
• Third, the failure to meet this duty must be shown to be the direct cause of the injury or death of the patient.
• Fourth, it must also be shown that the failure to meet the duty was outside the norm of generally accepted standards for the health care profession.
• Fifth, the intent and/or malice of the actions of the health care provider must be demonstrated.
• Sixth, damages in the form of financial loss and/or emotional impact must be established.

As you can see, pursuing a medical malpractice claim is an overwhelming process. The healthcare industry in San Antonio is a large community of corporations with teams of highly skilled lawyers working to protect their interests against claims of negligence. You need the help of a San Antonio medical malpractice lawyer on your side.

The lawyers of Carabin Shaw are here to help give you a voice and stand up to the big healthcare companies so you can receive the compensation you deserve.

Call us today for a free consultation and let us go to work for you. You can reach one of our experienced attorneys in San Antonio at 866-216-5430.