New York Ranks Worst in U.S. for Punishing Dangerous Doctors

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• New York records the nation’s lowest adverse action rate at just 15.19 per 1,000 NPDB practitioners, ranking 50th out of 50 states.
• Colorado leads the country with 66.73 adverse action reports per 1,000 practitioners, more than 4 times New York’s rate.
• Six of the 10 lowest-ranked states are in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, suggesting a regional pattern of weaker practitioner accountability.

When a doctor causes harm, the system is supposed to respond. Adverse action reports, license suspensions, revocations, and professional sanctions exist to hold practitioners accountable and protect the public. But across the country, the likelihood that a dangerous doctor faces consequences varies dramatically depending on where they practice. Some states act decisively; others barely act at all.

An analysis by Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers examined adverse action reports filed between 2021 and 2025 across all 50 states using data from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). States were ranked by adverse action reports per 1,000 NPDB practitioners, identifying where medical professionals face the fewest consequences for misconduct.

New York Ranks Dead Last with 15.19 Adverse Actions per 1,000 Practitioners, The 10 States Where Dangerous Doctors Face the Fewest Consequences

New York’s rate of 15.19 per 1,000 practitioners is less than a quarter of Colorado’s 66.73, making it the state where dangerous doctors are least likely to face formal consequences. New Jersey follows closely at 19.03, with Missouri at 20.33, rounding out the three weakest states for medical accountability. Notably, four of the bottom 10 states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, are home to some of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, raising questions about whether institutional influence may be shielding practitioners from scrutiny.

Looking at the study, Tyler Wilk, Founding Attorney at Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, commented:

“These numbers reveal a troubling disparity. Patients in New York or New Jersey are far less likely to see action taken against a negligent physician than patients in Colorado or Wisconsin. That inconsistency isn’t just a policy gap, it’s a patient safety crisis. Every state should be held to the same standard when lives are at stake.”

Colorado Leads the Nation at 66.73 per 1,000, The 10 States with the Strongest Practitioner Accountability

Colorado’s rate of 66.73 is more than four times that of last-place New York, suggesting a far more aggressive posture toward practitioner misconduct. The top 10 is dominated by Midwestern and Southern states, with Wisconsin (63.66), Michigan (63.11), and Louisiana (62.04) all exceeding 60 per 1,000. Even the 10th-ranked state, Kansas, at 51.98, enforces at more than triple New York’s rate.

New York’s Rate of 15.19 Is Is Lower Than Any Other Top-6 Populous State

Among the six most populous states, New York’s 15.19 rate stands dramatically apart, approximately 63% of Pennsylvania’s 24.23, and approximately 40% of California’s 38.01. Texas (44.20) and Illinois (44.04) enforce at nearly three times New York’s rate, despite managing similarly complex healthcare landscapes.

Methodology

This analysis examined adverse action reports filed against medical practitioners across all 50 states between 2021 and 2025, using data from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). Researchers calculated the adverse action rate per 1,000 NPDB practitioners for each state by dividing total adverse action reports by the total number of registered practitioners and multiplying by 1,000. States were then ranked from highest to lowest enforcement rate to identify where dangerous doctors face the most and fewest consequences.