I don't hear much about Liability Insurance anymore...

Nurses General Nursing

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I do not hear much about anymore.

I have gone to part time Home Health. Nobody that I have asked has their own.

Is this due to the Recession, or is it considered outdated now?

You comments are welcome. and what you think about the general cost if you do carry it.

Thx

Specializes in ER, ICU, Neuro, Ortho, Med/Surg, Travele.

I tell every new nurse and even a few more experienced nurses that it is a must have along with your license. Don't ever trust your employer to cover you. You need someone in your corner to help you.

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If you type "" into the window at the top of this page, you'll get a number of links to previous threads on this, and some to companies that sell it. I've had NSO for decades.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing...es-583077.html

Some folks will say that they have heard that only people with insurance get sued, under the "deep pockets" theory of litigation, or that the hospital's insurance will cover you for nursing malpractice. Neither is true. Problem is that if your hospital has a judgment against them for something you did, they don't pay it, their insurance carrier pays it. And then, no matter what the hospital promises you, the insurance carrier is entitled by law to recover their losses...from you. My dad wrote insurance on hospitals for years and told me never, never, never go "bare" (without my own insurance) unless I was perfectly comfortable living under a bridge, with no real estate, no money, and no car.

Yeah, I know, there are laws protecting some assets under bankruptcy. But they could garnish your wages more or less in perpetuity, and that wreaks hell with your credit rating. You wanna deal c that? Not I, since decent malpractice insurance is good for short money.

Make sure the policy you buy is clear to you: Does it cover you only while it's in force (while you're still paying for it), or does it cover you for things that happened while you were paying for it in the past, even if you aren't working now and don't think you need insurance? Be sure it pays for your own lawyer, too, or supplies one to defend you (never, never rely on the hospital's lawyer to defend you-- conflict of interest there; they do not have your best interests at heart no matter what they say).

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Is this due to the Recession, or is it considered outdated now?

A question for you: Is the litigious American culture outdated? No? Then strategies to manage that risk, such as individual , are probably not outdated. ;)

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I don't talk to my coworkers about carrying insurance on the off chance that a lawsuit comes up and someone lets it slip that "NDB has insurance, you could probably get some money out of her."

Not likely to happen, but you never know.

I have NSO right now, and have a for a few years, but I'm thinking of switching. My insurance carrier for my homeowners/auto also provides professional insurance with about the same coverage for a little less moolah.

However, NSO hooks you up with discounts for some online stores, so I don't know.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

The deep pockets theory is somewhat true, but not completely true. Thus, I think it is better to have litigation insurance. Your lawyer is free. When the plaintiff sues you, the hospital, the physician, and so on, they realize your pockets are shallow but your defense is in depth, they'll always drop you... unless, of course, you seriously screwed up and they are out for revenge instead of money.

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Also, your own professional liability coverage covers you if you have to appear before the BON to defend your license, and if you're called as a witness in a suit against someone else -- either of which is, statistically, significantly more likely to happen in your career than being sued yourself, and for which your employer's insurance definitely does not cover you. Also, your own insurance covers you 24/7, for any volunteer/community nursing services you may choose to provide. Your employer's insurance only covers you (if they choose to cover you) for work done on that employer's time, on that employer's property.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

would not consider doing without.

Friend was named in lawsuit years ago. The hospital's insurance protected THEM, not her. She had an attorney paid by her insurance and, thankfully, was well represented. However, if she had not had the insurance the outcome might have been totally different.

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I absolutely won't practice without it. Not sure if all my coworkers agree, though. We've never discussed it, and it was mentioned in mystify school. I only know about it from a good friend who's been a nurse forever.

Mystify school, that's a good one, I like that!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Rehab.

Just got my renewal notice today actually. I always carry ...it is $108 for the year, a small price to pay!

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Ever since a nursing instructor told me she got called into court for something that happened 20 years ago, I make sure I NEVER go without . It's too cheap not to carry it.

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Mystify school, that's a good one, I like that!

As a nursing student, I have to say that "mystify school" sounds pretty accurate a lot of days :cheeky:!

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Specializes in ER, SANE, Home Health, Forensic.

I have never heard of another malpractice company other than NSO here in the States. Any others out there?

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