
In the first time since 2003, medical malpractice payouts increased year-over-year in both total number in amount, in what Forbes calls "a sign that the significant amount of medical malpractice law reform in the states has abated."
The majority of payouts that stem from a medical malpractice case are reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank. There are a few exceptions. Payouts as a result of cases filed against hospitals are not included because hospitals are not practicioners, and payouts that don’t stem from a written demand (but rather a verbal or mediation situation) are also not included. Suffice it to say: "Methodological flaws aside, most payouts by sued physicians and their insurers are arguably captured by the data, though with a significant time lag (payouts typically happen many years after the alleged malpractice occurs)."
Diederich Healthcare has conveniently aggregated much of this data and displayed it in a few easy to consume visuals (available here), which make it clear that medical malpractice payouts are going up. In terms of raw figures, $3,733,678,100 was paid out in 2013 as a result of medical malpractice suits. This was $168 million more than in 2012, an increase of 4.7%. In 38 states, the amount of payout increased, including Maryland. Maryland and the District of Columbia were in the top 10 states in terms of per capita payout in 2013, at $19.27 and $19.31 respectively. Only Conneticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York were higher. New York remains far and away the state with the highest per capita payout, at $38.83. However, it was also the state with the largest decrease in payouts from 2012-2013, at $73 million less.