By Cherie LaCour, New Mexico trial lawyer — For years, a familiar ghost has been used to haunt the halls of the Roundhouse in Santa Fe: “litigation crisis.” We are told that greedy trial lawyers and “runaway” juries are driving doctors out of New Mexico and forcing medical malpractice premiums into the stratosphere.
Opinion
Cherie LaCour is a principal at Bencoe & LaCour Law. Cherie is a trial lawyer that specializes in medical malpractice law.
But according to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) own latest data, that ghost doesn’t exist. 2024 Data from the National Practitioners Data Bank paints a different story.
- Total medical malpractice lawsuit compensation for victims – NM ranks 15th nationally
- Average medical malpractice lawsuit compensation for victims – New Mexico ranks 25th nationally
New research from the AMA and reports from MedPage Today reveal a startling reality that contradicts the insurance industry’s favorite talking points. The truth is that medical malpractice claims are actually declining, yet insurance premiums are skyrocketing. According to the AMA, the percentage of physicians sued for malpractice in 2024 fell from 2.3% to 1.8% yet medical malpractice insurance rates more than tripled nationally.
The AMA’s 2024–2025 reports highlight a trend the insurance lobby would rather you ignore. Claim frequency against physicians has fallen significantly over the last decade. In 2024, less than a third of physicians (28.7%) reported having been sued during their careers, which is a notable drop from 34% in 2016.
Furthermore, the majority of these cases, nearly 65%, are dropped, dismissed, or settled without any finding of fault. The “litigation explosion” is a myth. New Mexico’s legal system is not being overrun; if anything, the “toll” the AMA speaks of is the burden of an administrative and insurance system that refuses to acknowledge these declining risks.
Despite fewer claims, the AMA reports that medical liability premiums have increased nationwide for the seventh consecutive year. This is the most prolonged upward trend since the early 2000s. In 2025 alone, nearly 40% of all premiums rose year-over-year.
If the number of lawsuits is going down, why are our doctors being squeezed for every cent they’ve earned? The answer is simple, if uncomfortable: The multi-billion-dollar insurance industry is manufacturing a crisis to protect record profits, and they are doing it off the backs of New Mexico’s medical practitioners.
In New Mexico, we see this play out in our rural clinics and specialty practices. When the risk (lawsuits) goes down and the price (premiums) goes up, the difference doesn’t vanish into thin air. It goes into the pockets of insurance company shareholders.
And then just this week, we learn that Presbyterian Health Plan is canceling most of their Medicare Advantage Plans, leaving 30,000 people to find insurance elsewhere and laying off 150 people.
The industry uses a term called “social inflation” to justify these hikes—blaming everything from COVID-19 to “shifts in jury perspectives.” They claim they are “scared” of large verdicts, yet they fail to mention that the vast majority of cases never reach a jury, and total payout amounts across the industry have remained relatively stable when adjusted for actual inflation.
What we are witnessing is a “hard market” by design. By jacking up rates while lawsuits are down, insurance companies are padding their reserves and ensuring that even if they face a rare large verdict, their bottom line remains untouched.
As a trial lawyer, my job is to fight for justice for patients who have been catastrophically injured by medical negligence. I believe in accountability. But I also believe in a healthcare system that works for doctors.
It is time to stop blaming the courtroom for the greed of the boardroom. If we want to lower healthcare costs and keep doctors in New Mexico, we shouldn’t be looking at tort reform; we should be looking at insurance reform.
The AMA’s data has exposed the “broken” system. It’s not the lawyers or the juries that are breaking it – it’s the insurers who are profiting from the wreckage. They make it impossible for physicians to practice without paying exorbitant premiums.
Cherie LaCour is a principal at Bencoe & LaCour Law. Cherie is a trial lawyer that specializes in medical malpractice law.