NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Some lawmakers are unhappy after a recent meeting revealed the significant amount of money the state spent on settlements last year. Major payouts stemmed from medical malpractice and civil rights violations, totaling well into the millions of taxpayer dollars.
During a recent legislative finance committee meeting, lawmakers heard from the General Services Department about the state’s settlement expenditures for the year. In the last fiscal year, the state incurred over $55 million in settlements. The largest category of payouts was civil rights violations, which amounted to approximately $33 million. Medical malpractice lawsuits closely followed, totaling nearly $11 million. The University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) settled 24 cases in fiscal year 2024-2025 for a total of over $11 million.
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Another costly area for the state was the Corrections Department, which dealt with 67 cases resulting in $8 million in payouts. The Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) had 13 cases that were also just shy of $8 million. One of the most significant settlements was $2 million, classified as a civil rights case, after an employee at a state adolescent behavior center was accused of sexually assaulting a minor at the facility.
Lawmakers such as Senator George Muñoz are calling for changes in how these claims can be filed against the state. Muñoz stated, “On the civil rights, the legislature is going to fix this civil rights stuff because this number has grown astronomically.”…