Poll re: NP malpractice insurance - page 2

I'm really not sure where I stand on this issue, but one of the NPs I work with said never to carry your own insurance, because it makes you more likely to be sued. If you have a juicy insurance policy to go after, you are more likely to be named in a suit. However, if all you have to offer are school loans, they aren't going to waste the money to pursue a defendant who will never be able to pay the judgement. As for the following hospital policy argument, all of the cases I've read have said that as long as you're following the applicable standard of care, it doens't matter if it is in accordance with hospital policy or not. I looked, and could not find one case that said not following hospital policy created liability. Of course, 95% of all malpractice cases settle, and case law has a limited impact on settlement negotiations.

The "it makes you a target" argument is a canard, because plaintiffs and their attorneys have no idea (and don't care) whether or not you have your own insurance when they decide who to name in a suit. Re: the "following policy" issue, you're right, the court will follow the general "standard of care" when deciding whether or not you were negligent, but your employer will use a failure to follow some picky little detail of some picky little policy you probably didn't know existed as a reason to not cover you under the hospital's policy (and, believe me, they will look hard for a reason/excuse to do this), which they are free to do. I saw this happen all the time when I worked as a hospital surveyor for my state and CMS. Once they do that, if you don't already have your own insurance, you are seriously screwed, because there is no insurance company on the planet that will sell you coverage for an incident that has already occurred, and you will be paying any costs involved out of your own pocket. And, even if they don't, the hospital's attorney who would be representing you are looking out, first and foremost, for the hospital's interests, not yours. Don't ever forget that, because they certainly will not (I don't intend that as a criticism of the attorneys -- it's just the reality of the situation).

What that NP told you was complete and utter nonsense. Plaintiff's attorneys follow a strafing technique, where they name anyone and everyone that had the slightest thing to do with the case. From there, the defendants may or may not get winnowed down. The comment by elkpark is spot on regarding hospital policy. That's what allows the hospital to cut you loose from their defense of the suit: you didn't follow some obscure policy and that made you a bad employee. Poof, you'll find yourself having to hire your own lawyer to defend you.

Thanks for the replies. That makes more sense. It's really sad that the hospitals will try so hard to not cover their employees. Not surprising, but sad.