NEWS

AMA Report Finds Physician Lawsuit Frequency Has Declined

June 1, 2026

The American Medical Association has released new research showing that the share of physicians who have been sued during their careers has declined, even as medical liability risk remains a meaningful exposure for medical practices and the agents who place their coverage.

The AMA’s 2026 report, Medical Liability Claim Frequency Among U.S. Physicians, found that 28.7% of physicians had been sued at least once during their careers in 2024, down from 34% in 2016. The report also found that 1.8% of physicians had a claim filed against them during the previous year.

Healthcare Dive, reporting on the AMA findings, noted the same central tension: claim frequency appears to be declining, but the risk of being sued remains elevated for many physicians, especially in higher-risk specialties.

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Lower Claim Frequency Does Not Eliminate Placement Complexity

Lower lawsuit frequency does not mean medical professional liability placements have become simple or low-risk. For retail agents, the practical issue is that underwriters rarely evaluate a physician or medical group based only on national claim-frequency trends. They look at the full risk profile: specialty, procedure mix, venue, claims history, limits requested, retroactive date, practice setting, use of advanced practice providers, and whether the account includes entity or facility exposure.

That distinction matters. A broad decline in lawsuit frequency may help frame the market, but it does not remove the underwriting concerns that drive pricing, appetite, or coverage terms for individual accounts.

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Severity and Defense Costs Still Matter

Medical liability pricing is not driven only by how often claims are filed. Even when fewer physicians are sued, claim severity, defense costs, venue volatility, and the possibility of large verdicts can continue to put pressure on the MPL market. This is why agents may still see firm underwriting, careful class review, and premium increases in certain specialties or jurisdictions even when national lawsuit frequency is trending downward.

The AMA’s separate medical liability premium research reported that 2025 marked the seventh consecutive year of premium increases, with nearly 40% of reported premiums increasing from 2024 to 2025.

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What This Means for Retail Agents

The AMA data gives agents a useful talking point, but it should not be treated as a soft-market signal. For physicians with clean histories in lower-risk specialties, the trend may support a more favorable underwriting conversation. For higher-risk specialties, difficult venues, prior claims, or unusual practice models, the placement may still require careful market selection and a strong submission narrative.

Western Summit sees this distinction regularly in wholesale medical professional liability placements. The question is not simply whether physicians are sued less often overall. The question is whether the specific risk fits a carrier’s appetite, whether the coverage structure matches the exposure, and whether the submission gives underwriters enough confidence to compete.

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The Takeaway

The AMA’s latest claim-frequency report shows that physician lawsuit frequency has declined, but medical liability exposure remains active and uneven across the market. For retail agents, the data is useful, but individual placement strategy still depends on specialty, venue, claims history, and underwriting appetite.