The Empire State — and particularly New York City — is known for having some of the finest doctors and medical care in the world, yet it still ranks second in the nation for medical malpractice, reported a new study.
While the state employs nearly 55,000 medical practitioners, it also recorded 5,321 medical malpractice payments between 2022 and 2026, according to research conducted by High Rise Financial.
Only New Mexico ranked higher at 115.7 malpractice reports per 1,000 practitioners.
New York’s malpractice rate of 97.2 per 1,000 practitioners topped neighboring Pennsylvania with 95.9 reports, Florida with 83.0 and New Jersey with 76.1.
North Dakota recorded just 11.3 reports per 1,000 practitioners.
Cases can include surgical instruments or sponges left inside patients after surgery or a physician mistaking cancer for indigestion or prescribing the wrong drug if it causes physical harm or injury.
One of the most infamous New York cases involved surgeon Allan Zarkin — dubbed “Dr. Zorro” — who in 1999 carved his initials into Liana Gedz’s abdomen after delivering her baby via Caesarean section at Beth Israel hospital in Manhattan.
“It’s like a scene from a horror movie,” Gedz told CBS in 2000. “He branded me.”
The doctor resigned, and the patient later received $1.75 million.
a New York hospital and two doctors for ruining her singing voice. FilmMagic
“Sound of Music” star Julie Andrews sued Mount Sinai Hospital and two doctors in December 1999, stating that a botched throat operation to remove non-cancerous nodes destroyed her professional singing voice.
The settlement amount was never disclosed.
In January 2026, Fox Varian, 22, who identified as a boy in her teen years won $2 million in a landmark lawsuit against New York doctors accused of pushing a life-altering double mastectomy on her when she was just 16 years old — the first “detransition” malpractice lawsuit in the nation to go to trial and win.
Unlike many other states, New York does not place a legal limit on damages for pain and suffering, so wronged patients can see high payouts.
In one instance, Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian agreed to pay a staggering $165 million to 147 former patients victimized by disgraced gynecologist Robert Hadden.
Statistics show that Brooklyn consistently leads the five boroughs in total medical malpractice filings and high-payout verdicts in the five boroughs.
