Tort cases make up a small percentage of civil caseloads
According to the most recent data [2013] from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC):
- Tort cases made up less than 3% of total civil caseloads in twelve of 24 reporting states
- In eight reporting states, they made up 3 – 5%
- In four reporting states, they made up 5 – 7.5%
Medical malpractice cases make up less than 1% of civil caseloads
In 13 of 14 reporting states, med-mal cases made up between 0.06% and 0.2% of total civil caseloads. The highest rate, in the 14th state, was 0.035%.
Less than 1% of all civil cases are resolved by juries
In 20 reporting states, jury trials for civil cases made up 0.06% to 0.62% of total civil caseloads.
Most tort cases are not resolved by juries
The percentage of tort cases resolved by trial by jury was remarkably low in all 17 reporting states:
In eight states: Less than 2%
In six states: 2% to 3%
In two states: 3% to 4%
In one state: 5.9%
Most medical malpractice cases are not resolved by juries
Percentages of med-mal cases resolved by juries were also low in 13 reporting states:
In three states: Less than 3%
In five states: 3% to 6%
In three states: 6% to 9%
In two states: Above 9%
All rates were consistent with the NCSC’s data from the previous year.