Pick up Malpractice! They went after my license.

d'cm · Mar 20, 2007

Malpractice insurance will NOT PROTECT YOUR LICENSE in any way or manner. It protects you financially if you are sued.

elkpark · Mar 20, 2007

Malpractice insurance will NOT PROTECT YOUR LICENSE in any way or manner. It protects you financially if you are sued.

Well, it "protect(s) your license" in the sense that it pays for legal representation to defend you (and your license) if you are sued or brought up before the BON for any kind of disciplinary charges -- representation that would be v. expensive if you were paying out of pocket (the first hour of the attorney's time would cost you more than the annual premium for the insurance policy). In many cases, the company not only pays for the representation but supplies you with a specialized attorney experienced in defending nurses against these sorts of charges -- the kind of person you might well have trouble finding on your own.

BTW, I have seen BON disciplinary hearings where the accused nurse did have an attorney representing her/him, and hearings where the nurse didn't bother with an attorney because s/her knew "I didn't do anything wrong" -- and (as a result) I would NEVER consider appearing before the board without an attorney.

pippinsrosy · Mar 20, 2007

But malpractice ins will only help you if you are sued, and they are seeking damages from you... it wont protect your* license*, if you did something negligent...... am I correct, or wrong????

It will also pay for your legal fees if someone files charges against your license with the state, which, if you need an attorney, can be VERY EXPENSIVE (I'm finding out the hard way, thanks to a vengeful former employer...).

GET INSURANCE!!!! I wish I hadn't let mine lapse...

Sheri257 · Mar 20, 2007

What the instructor told you about being sued is true. Greedy lawyers will make an extra effort to drag you into lawsuits if they know you have liability coverage because they know they'll collect bigger money if you are found liable. I don't ever tell co-workers or employers that I have liability insurance.

Seems like lots of people are assuming this is true but ... where's the evidence that this is actually happening? There is none. In fact, there's evidence of this NOT happening.

IF lawyers are dragging RN's into lawsuits just because they have insurance, they obviously haven't been very successful in actually collecting that insurance money. Why? Because the premiums would be much higher than they are today.

The fact that RN premiums are typically only $100 a year tells you that the insurance companies don't pay that many claims on RN's. If they did, they'd charge a hellava lot more.

For example, NP's do have a lot more liability and malpractice payments so their premiums are much higher: anywhere from $600 - 1,000 a year depending on which state you're. And MD premiums run into the thousands.

I just think people are worrying about this for nothing.

:typing

pagandeva2000, LPN · Mar 20, 2007

www.nso.com
A few months ago I was unjustly fired after a resident died, after my shift, and after she had been released from the emergency room. She had trouble swallowing something at lunch and another nurse suctioned her.
I was accused of neglect and reported to the state.
I only found out about it because I got a letter back saying, and I quote, "There is insufficient credible evidence to support that you are responsible for the alleged incident." Thank goodness for my unit clerk, who refused to change her story after being requested to by the DON. She told him, "I told the truth, and I'm not changing it."
Luckily I was cleared, but if I had to be fighting right new - whew!

What exactly happened? I am lost between the patient died after your shift after being released from the ER. Another nurse suctioned her, and YOU got reported to the state??? How did the unit clerk get involved? I don't mean to ask so many questions, but I am trying to picture this scenerio. Also, were you forced to be unable to work while waiting for their decision?

I always make sure I have my malpractice insurance for crap just like this...you never know.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2007

What exactly happened? I am lost between the patient died after your shift after being released from the ER. Another nurse suctioned her, and YOU got reported to the state??? How did the unit clerk get involved? I don't mean to ask so many questions, but I am trying to picture this scenerio. Also, were you forced to be unable to work while waiting for their decision?
I always make sure I have my malpractice insurance for crap just like this...you never know.

At lunch a resident said she had something stuck in her throat. She was talking so clearly had a patent airway. 20 minutes later another nurse decided she was choking and suctioned her. This nurse is the ADON's DIL. She sent her to the ER for a chext xr after talking to the doctor. I kept asking her (other nurse) if she wanted help and she repeatedly declined. The ER sent her back to us. Later that evening the resident died.

They decided that I ignored her necessitating the other nurse's intervention. They fired me. I was out of work for a month and had to hire a lawyer to get them to give me a freakin' reference. I had no idea that I had been reported until I got the letter saying I'd been cleared.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2007

Oh, the unit clerk was there the whole time, and knew when I was where and who was doing what and how the patient was.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2007

Oh, and if someone is released from the ER and dies within 24 hours there's an automatic investigation so the state was in STAT to question everyone - except me. Me, they fired.

Chaya, ASN, RN · Mar 20, 2007

I too would never be without my malpractice insurance (which reminds, me-must send in my renewal check ASAP). However, I have had no personal experience with their services and know of no-one else who has. I would like to hear from anyone out there who has needed to use their services. No company name or specifics need be mentioned- I just would like to know if they in fact did honor their claims to protect YOUR interests or did you get the run-around when the chips were down?

ernurse4ill · Mar 20, 2007

Sue I am sorry that you had to go through what you did, but thank you for posting this. I, like many others, have always been told not to carry my own insurance. After reading through the last 9 pages, I called today and got my own. I have mine through State Farm. It is a rider policy on my homeowners. It is costing me $37 per year for $500,000 coverage. My question for all of you is this..... do you believe this is enough coverage?

Sheri257 · Mar 20, 2007

I have mine through State Farm. It is a rider policy on my homeowners. It is costing me $37 per year for $500,000 coverage. My question for all of you is this..... do you believe this is enough coverage?

NSO's standard policy for most states is $6 million in coverage for about $100, give or take so ...

I don't know if that means $500,000 is not enough but, why not go for $6 million since it's so cheap?

:typing

elkpark · Mar 20, 2007

Clarification on limits of coverage: Most policies include two figures, a "per incident" number and an "aggregate" number, e.g., $1M per incident/$6M aggregate. That means you are covered for up to $1 million per incident up to a maximum of $6 million per year. Even if you are covered for a maximum of $6M for the year, you would not be covered for more than $1M in any single occurrence (in my example -- fill in your own numbers from your own policy!)