Between 1986 and 2010, malpractice payouts for patients who were killed, or disabled by diagnostic errors (not including surgical mistakes or medication mistakes) amounted to $38.8 billion.  That works out to between 80,000 and 160,000 paid claims per year. Diagnostic errors with actionable outcomes were almost twice that of any other error category—all this according to a study Johns Hopkins researchers, determined from insurance claims.   MORE