Steep Increase in Largest Claims.

The average cost of a medical malpractice claim in the U.S. has increased by 50% since 2009, with a sharp rise in the number of claims of more than $5,000,000 over the last four years, according to Beazley, an insurer of hospital professional liability.

"The average paid claim with indemnity closing in 2018 was six percent higher than in 2017. While that is only a single-digit increase from year to year, the cumulative effect of similar rises has taken the average paid claim from $400,000 in 2009 to almost $600,000 last year, which means paid claims are 50% higher than they were nine years ago," says Valentina Minetti, U.S. Hospitals Focus Group leader at Beazley.

The findings further showed that large claims--defined as larger than $5,000,000--now comprise a much greater portion of all claims than in years past. In looking at the period 2015-18, these claims were 1.9% of total claims versus...