I have hemmed and hawed for years, and with each passing year in practice, gotten more and more anxious about NOT having malpractice insurance. I had always been told "nurses who carry personal insurance are sued first," but then I had also been told that the hospital will only cover you if you followed hospital policy down to the exact letter (and we all know human error is a real thing) and will throw you under the bus the first chance they get.
I have watched coworkers go through awful lawsuits, and have had experiences at work that increasingly leave me praying at the bedside that everything turns out okay and that I don't end up in court. My line of work is just plain scary sometimes (OB). Patients are getting sicker, and pregnancies are getting more and more high risk with more and more co-morbidities that make for sometimes frightening situations at the bedside.
I have been reading through threads on this site for a few weeks trying to decide, and I finally decided that enough is enough, and that my peace of mind is worth $109 a year. I feel like a weight has been lifted. I just had to share.
Ooh, Carolinapooh, sorry to tell you, but you could not be more wrong in some of your beliefs. I recommend that you sit down with the base hospital risk manager or the JAG medical tort claims officer, and ask them to explain 'vicarious liability of the employer for the employee', 'respondeat superior', the 'Federal Tort Claims Act' and 'excess coverage' to you. Then call CNA (if you bought your policy from NSO) or Liberty Mutual (if you bought your policy from ProLiability), tell them you are on active duty in the military, and ask them if your personal policy will provide first dollar coverage and a defense attorney to you if the United States of America is sued due to any nursing errors you commit as a member of the military. You could also print off my article and the comments thereto, give it to the risk manager or tort claims officer and ask if they disagree with any of it.
If you follow my suggestions above, I think you will be very surprised at the answers you will hear. Let me know if I can answer any questions for you.
I hate to tell you, but my friend is an ex JAG. Already been down that road.
He completely disagrees. This isn't a military lawsuit I'm talking about. I'm talking about civilians suing - since active duty CAN'T. God bless the Feres Doctrine (sarcasm).
I've already been named in one - and my documentation saved me because it was spot on. I consulted with the Area Defense Council, the MTF, and JAG as well. So yes, I'll stick to what I know. :)
No, that's not what I said. And inside the military works a bit differently.]
The whole clinic was named in the lawsuit (which was eventually dropped due to a lack of an actual case).
JAG backs the USAF. Everyone named is always, always advised to seek ADC's advice. That's their job. I spoke with ADC first, ADC spoke with JAG, JAG spoke with me, my documentation was reviewed and there were zero holes. Pursuing me would've gotten the plaintiff nowhere. JAG let them know this, and I was essentially excused.
Had I been pursued outside of Federal court (I was warned this was being bandied about by the plaintiff - good luck with that) and via the state, naming my nursing practice as a problem, yes - my professional insurance, per JAG, steps up to the plate because that has zero to do with the Feds at that point.
Military nurses can still be sued outside of the military. Plus, if I ever work outside the base, I need it. I still have a compact license. So I carry it.
Everyone is talking about the hospital covering you in the event of a lawsuit. Well, not all nurses work in a hospital. Nurses in home-health and nursing homes are particularly vulnerable. No-one knows you're covered unless you advertise -so you being sued first because you have malpractice insurance is garbage. Read the small print. For the peace of mind it offers it's worth it.
Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.
Everyone is talking about the hospital covering you in the event of a lawsuit. Well, not all nurses work in a hospital. Nurses in home-health and nursing homes are particularly vulnerable. No-one knows you're covered unless you advertise -so you being sued first because you have malpractice insurance is garbage. Read the small print. For the peace of mind it offers it's worth it.
Generally speaking, the employer, regardless of whom it is, is legally liable for the acts of the employees. Nursing homes and home health agencies generally have Liability Insurance to cover the acts of the employees, just as a hospital or clinic does. A nursing home or home health agency employee is therefore covered by the employer's insurance just as in the hospital or clinic. If your employer does not have liability insurance, or you are not an actual employee (you are an independent contractor or the like), then having your own insurance would be vital, since it would then be first-dollar coverage, rather than excess coverage.
Keep in mind you must always keep your malpractice insurance in force even when you are no longer working as a nurse. You need to keep yourself insured in keeping with the statute of limitations for lawsuits in your state. I know I have to keep mine in force in my state for 10 years, despite not even working as a nurse for the last 3 years. Malpractice insurance is not something to skimp on.
Specializes in Med/Surg, OR, Peds, Patient Education.
I have hemmed and hawed for years, and with each passing year in practice, gotten more and more anxious about NOT having malpractice insurance. I had always been told "nurses who carry personal insurance are sued first," but then I had also been told that the hospital will only cover you if you followed hospital policy down to the exact letter (and we all know human error is a real thing) and will throw you under the bus the first chance they get.
I have watched coworkers go through awful lawsuits, and have had experiences at work that increasingly leave me praying at the bedside that everything turns out okay and that I don't end up in court. My line of work is just plain scary sometimes (OB). Patients are getting sicker, and pregnancies are getting more and more high risk with more and more co-morbidities that make for sometimes frightening situations at the bedside.
I have been reading through threads on this site for a few weeks trying to decide, and I finally decided that enough is enough, and that my peace of mind is worth $109 a year. I feel like a weight has been lifted. I just had to share.
Great advice. In 1955 when I was a nursing student, and later as a new RN, no RN carried her/his own malpractice insurance. Nurses were rarely, if ever, sued. Today our entire society has become more and more litigious.
I took time off to raise my family and reentered nursing after this hiatus. When I returned, a younger RN took me aside and told me to carry my own Liability Insurance, but not to mention this fact. Yes, the hospital has liability insurance and can be of help, but deviate, just slightly from the precise protocol, even in an emergency, and you might be told that you are not covered by the hospital. In the more vernacular, "you may be thrown under the bus."
I immediately contacted the NSO and purchased my own insurance, which I renewed every year, until I retired. Should I choose to even volunteer, using my RN, I will contact NSO and carry my own liability insurance.
Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.
Great advice. In 1955 when I was a nursing student, and later as a new RN, no RN carried her/his own malpractice insurance. Nurses were rarely, if ever, sued. Today our entire society has become more and more litigious.
I took time off to raise my family and reentered nursing after this hiatus. When I returned, a younger RN took me aside and told me to carry my own liability insurance, but not to mention this fact. Yes, the hospital has liability insurance and can be of help, but deviate, just slightly from the precise protocol, even in an emergency, and you might be told that you are not covered by the hospital. In the more vernacular, "you may be thrown under the bus."
I immediately contacted the NSO and purchased my own insurance, which I renewed every year, until I retired. Should I choose to even volunteer, using my RN, I will contact NSO and carry my own liability insurance.
My article linked above discusses how this is generally an inaccurate statement. If you have questions about this sort of thing, you really should be talking to one of my risk, medmal claims, medmal insurance or medical-legal colleagues who are experts in the field. Not someone who has no training, experience or expertise in a technical subject yet renders an opinion nonetheless. I am certainly happy to help with any questions.
Great advice. In 1955 when I was a nursing student, and later as a new RN, no RN carried her/his own malpractice insurance. Nurses were rarely, if ever, sued. Today our entire society has become more and more litigious.
I took time off to raise my family and reentered nursing after this hiatus. When I returned, a younger RN took me aside and told me to carry my own liability insurance, but not to mention this fact. Yes, the hospital has liability insurance and can be of help, but deviate, just slightly from the precise protocol, even in an emergency, and you might be told that you are not covered by the hospital. In the more vernacular, "you may be thrown under the bus."
I immediately contacted the NSO and purchased my own insurance, which I renewed every year, until I retired. Should I choose to even volunteer, using my RN, I will contact NSO and carry my own liability insurance.
You have been a nurse a long time. I would like to hear of all the nurses you have known that have been sued and have their own Liability Insurance kick in to save them.
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carolinapooh, BSN, RN
3,577 Posts
I hate to tell you, but my friend is an ex JAG. Already been down that road.
He completely disagrees. This isn't a military lawsuit I'm talking about. I'm talking about civilians suing - since active duty CAN'T. God bless the Feres Doctrine (sarcasm).
I've already been named in one - and my documentation saved me because it was spot on. I consulted with the Area Defense Council, the MTF, and JAG as well. So yes, I'll stick to what I know. :)