[Angie O'Plasty, RN]

I knew two nurses who were railroaded out of jobs (and nearly lost their licenses) because of false allegations by LTC patients who were just beginning to be Sundowners and thought they'd "get even" for issues like being too slow with a sleeping pill.

I know because I was there, and I was nearly a victim of one of these guys also. One of them actually discussed the event with me and finished with, "I just don't like her. She should lose her job for not moving fast enough."

That nurse was out of work for months until the BON addressed the issue and finally cleared her. She nearly lost her home (and her mind with fear and worry) and had to go before the BON without any representation.

The other nurse was fired after the "investigation" by administration and reported to the BON. I don't know what happened to her, but a year later, I was working at the desk with another nurse who was on duty that night, and that nurse told me a completely different version of events than had been circulating in the facility. In other words, that the event HAD happened, but the offender was a different nurse completely.

I figured if it could happen to them, it could happen to me, or you, or anyone, and no way was I going to ever face the BON alone and lose my livelihood over some capricous whim of a family, patient, or management.

[NRSKarenRN]

Individual malpractice insurance decisions revisited | AORN ...

Additional reasons to carry insurance include:

• protection offered for services rendered as volunteer
• coverage after left employer or between jobs
• representation if employer alleges failure to follow facilites policy and procedure
• representation when reported to board of nursing

[caliotter3]

I've posted before that when I was involved with a lawsuit, the attorneys for my employer (who also represented the named nurses) asked first if we had our own insurance. They made it abundantly clear that we could expect them to stop representing us at any time for various reasons. As an aside, I feel I could have done better in having my own interests protected had I used my insurance to obtain my own representation. Having your own insurance is a necessity that pays off when you need it.

[caliotter3]

Originally Posted by elkpark

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 ...

I found every word in this post to be true, from personal experience. My employer provided representation for the nurses involved for their own benefit. None of the nurses named in this lawsuit work for this company today. I was canned by this employer in the middle of the lawsuit and I did nothing wrong. Go figure.

[DutchgirlRN]

Originally Posted by Rouxlucitt

How about NONE! If you don't have any insurance people will not be going after you to try and get money. That is what it is all about in the end. So simply... don't!

I believe that blanket statements are inappropriate and unfair to the person asking who really does not know what to do. A person may feel that malpractice insurance is a waste of money but many others have valid reasons for buying it. Even if it's for their peace of mind it is $97 well spent for them.

In my situation, I know the hospital tells us they have us covered but I've not seen that in writting anywhere. For a mere $8.09 a month I'm not taking any chances but that's just my decision. It may not be right for others. Each person must make up their own mind.

[Deetonia]

I have a question, I'm trying to get insurance through NSO but it ask me for the state of residency. I thought at the end of the application process it would ask me what state I practice in but it didn't. Which is the problem, I don't live in the same state that I practice, so I'm not sure what I should do. I used proliability for nursing school but they are charging more than 50% of what NSO is charging. Anyone know any other good insurance site(s)???

[Jolie]

Originally Posted by Deetonia

I have a question, I'm trying to get insurance through NSO but it ask me for the state of residency. I thought at the end of the application process it would ask me what state I practice in but it didn't. Which is the problem, I don't live in the same state that I practice, so I'm not sure what I should do.?

I had a similar question when I applied to NSO for insurance. At the time, I was not licensed in my state of residency. To further complicate matters, I was not employed either, but needed liability insurance in order to complete the clinical portion of my refresher course. I called their toll-free number and explained my situation to a representative who helped me to fill out the form. I was covered within a few days.

[ann945n]

Trust no one. Protect yourself. Its cheaper then you think (100 a year). Enough said.

[eccentricRN]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread... insurance was one thing I wanted to be sure to get & then forgot about it. I just applied to NSO, thank you to whomever posted that info (I think it was several of you).

[HeartJulz]

go with the old saying 'never depend on anyone else but yourself' and watch your back ... only you are the most responsible for your actions, so pay the extra few bucks a year to have your own insurance. Mine I think was only something like 38 bucks a year ... Im sure you make that in an hour pay, so like in nursing school we learn cover your own a**!!!