[elkpark]

Originally Posted by JRD2002

I would contact the administration department of the facility you are going to work at and ask them if they recommend that you get liability insurance.

Again, I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I would not ask the hospital what they recommend; I can tell you right now that they're going to tell you you don't need your own insurance. They will say this because they don't want you to have your own attorney if you find yourself in a potential-lawsuit situation at work; they don't want you to have any legal advice or representation other than the hospital's counsel to be telling you what to do in that situation, and, remember, those attorneys are being paid to represent the hospital's interests, not yours. If you find yourself in that kind of situation at work, you definitely want to be advised and represented by an attorney who is there to protect your interests, not your employer's.

I don't want to sound like some kind of conspiracy theorist, and I don't mean to suggest that any of this means the hospital administrators or attorneys are evil, or anything; but I've been in nursing and in hospitals for a long time, and I've seen how this stuff works. Hospital attorneys are being paid big bucks to protect the hospital's interests, and they will do whatever they can get away with, legally, in order to do that -- there's nothing wrong with that; that's how the system is supposed to work. But how that works out in real life is that individual nurses get sacrificed.

You never know, from one day to the next, when you're suddenly going to find yourself in a situation like this. If you do, one day, and you don't already have your own insurance, you're screwed. You can't get your own coverage (for that situation) at that point because there is no insurance company on the planet that will sell you coverage for an incident that has already happened, so you're going to have to pay for representation out of your own pocket -- and, for most nurses, just the first hour of consultation with an attorney (and every hour after that!) will cost you more than the annual premium for your own insurance ...

[Nurse4years]

If you have insurance, and are sued, your insurance attorneys will protect the insurance money.
Haven worked for med/mal, negligence attorneys, I personally would never carry my own insurance. However, as previously pointed out, it would be handy in case of any state board issues.
I have also never heard of Plan A or Plan B. If a suit is filed after you left employment, you can still be named as a litigant. Period. You were an employee, and as such, a part of the facility. The facility is being sued: Employees are the facility.
Of course Med/Mal attorneys want all nurses to buy insurance, more $$$.
There is much misunderstanding re malpractice insurance. It isn't like auto or home insurance. I encourage you to research. Might save you some money.

[cardiacRN2006]

Originally Posted by Nurse4years

Might save you some money.

What, $98 bucks a year? Whoopty doo. I pay that a month in coffee alone...

I'd gladly pay twice that, or three times that for coverage.


Never, never go a day without it.

[november551]

Originally Posted by cardiacRN2006

What, $98 bucks a year? Whoopty doo. I pay that a month in coffee alone...

I'd gladly pay twice that, or three times that for coverage.


Never, never go a day without it.

It's $50 a year through the website that was posted earlier in the thread.

[cardiacRN2006]

$48 for your first year, $98 a year after that.

Peanuts for protection.

[november551]

Originally Posted by cardiacRN2006

$48 for your first year, $98 a year after that.

Peanuts for protection.

Heheh I signed up for that insurance two days before I hit one year so I still got the discount

My wife is a massage therapist and has malpractice insurance. My cousin builds houses and he has the construction version of malpractice insurance. Really, any professional, in my opinion, should probably be carrying their own insurance. Especially when you are dealing with things that could go wrong in a major way be it your fault/something you did on accident. Even accountants carry liability insurance. To err is human. Not saying everyone will get sued at some point in their lives, but the risk will always be there. My coworker was named in a lawsuit over something that happened >5 years ago while she was a nursing student! The only reason she got named was because she was one of the few people that bothered to write a progress note on a particular patient that she doesn't even remember. She had to go give a deposition and has been dragged back to court over this again and again. You think the hospital or the college is backing her up? This kind of stuff does happen. To think a hospital completely 100% has your back is kind of naive. It's all business.

On the flipside, I've heard that they won't go after people with no malpractice insurance because they know there isn't money there. That's what the hospital's head risk management person told us at a unit conference one time. Whatever.

[Nurse4years]

You think her insurance company is going to protect her? They protect the insurance money?
Again, recommendation from a nurse who also worked med/mal/negligence- it isn't how you think it is. Research, save yourself $$$. Once they know you have insurance, you get to be drastically more involved. You don't make any decisions, THEY do.
It is a different world then what insurance companies have portrayed it to be.
But, as pointed out, it is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

[cardiacRN2006]

Originally Posted by november551

To think a hospital completely 100% has your back is kind of naive.

Totally agree.

[cardiacRN2006]

Originally Posted by Nurse4years

You think her insurance company is going to protect her? They protect the insurance money?

So then, by this same token, maybe physicians shouldn't pay for malpractice insurance either? Since it won't protect them? Only the money???



Sorry, don't buy it.

[Nurse4years]

Not really asking anyone to "buy" it. (hehe)
That is just the way it is.
I have watched attorneys drool when they found nurses with insurance. More $$$.
Physician's are required to carry insurance. Nurses are not.
Again, I saw it, and I continue to see the misconceptions, and I keep my little 100$ in my pocket.
That is my peace of mind. If there is a lawsuit- hospital insurance company covers employees actions- that is what the insurance is about. It isn't just for vending machines and wet floors.
I personally wouldn't want to go through what I have witnessed others go through- simply because they had the insurance. I know- I sent the letters, filed the papers, watched the attorneys.
Buy it or not- peace of mind could lead to more trouble, or less, it is a judgement call.