2 Reports Detail America’s Broken Medical Liability System

Pa. ranks first for large medical liability premium increases

April 28, 2026

U.S. doctors face a growing risk of being sued even if no error occurred, and high medical liability insurance premiums increase costs across the health care system.

The American Medical Association (AMA) released two reports this week focused on the ways the concerning medical liability climate affects doctors and “increases practice expenses, reinforces defensive medical practices, and drives up health care costs for patients and families.”

Medical liability premiums are growing fastest in Pennsylvania, which saw more than half of its premiums increase at least 10 percent or more between 2024 and 2025. Earlier this year, a HAP-commissioned report outlined similar concerns, with Pennsylvania hospitals facing the highest per-resident cost for medical liability payouts in the nation.

“Most cases never find fault with the physician, and the majority are dropped or dismissed before trial. Doctors continue to take on complex, high-risk care because patients depend on it,” said AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, in a statement. “However, the ongoing liability risk not only challenges physicians but it increases practice expenses, reinforces defensive medical practices, and drives up health care costs for patients and families.”

Among the key takeaways from the reports:

• More than 45 percent of U.S. doctors over 55 have been sued compared to 11 percent for physicians under 45.
• The risks are highest for surgical specialties.
  • Nearly 60 percent of obstetricians and gynecologists and 53 percent of general surgeons have been sued at least once.
• Pennsylvania is the only state with large increases over three years in a row. Kentucky, Florida, Illinois, and New York experienced large premium increases for two consecutive years.

HAP continues to advocate for policies that improve the state’s medical liability climate, including reversing a 2022 decision that allows attorneys to “venue shop” to move medical liability claims to counties with a history of higher payouts, rather than where the event occurred.

Learn more about the AMA reports online. The AMA policy briefs on liability claims and the cost of liability coverage are available online.