Has Anyone Ever USED Their Malpractice Insurance?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was reading the thread about the disappointing visit to the BON and this gives rise for another discussion for me. Has anyone ever used their ? Did it really save money, or did you still have to pay an attorney out of your own pocket? I am curious because it makes me wonder...NSO doesn't charge too much, just under $100 a year, but does that really help us when we are in trouble, or does it just make us feel comfortable to have it?

Going on with this same thread, my hospital assures me that I do not need any extra insurance, and that they will cover me. This is a large Catholic hospital that I would like to believe would cover me. Has anyone else heard this from their hospital?

That's what they say but it isn't necessarily true. You need your own policy because it protects you and your best interests. Your best interests and the hospital's best interests might not be one and the same. Often times it isn't. Get the insurance and protect yourself. Don't leave yourself vulnerable.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Going on with this same thread, my hospital assures me that I do not need any extra insurance, and that they will cover me. This is a large Catholic hospital that I would like to believe would cover me. Has anyone else heard this from their hospital?

They'll ALL tell you that. Get your own. As the other person mentioned, the hospital does not have YOUR best interest at heart, they have THEIRS. And, they have no problem bringing you the cross to bear, especially with their insane policies, rules and miscommunication (until it is convienent).

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I never share the fact that I have either. No one should. Get it to protect yourself and keep it quiet. The reason behind this is that if they find out you have insurance often they will add you to the suit in hopes of having your insurance company settle.

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Going on with this same thread, my hospital assures me that I do not need any extra insurance, and that they will cover me. This is a large Catholic hospital that I would like to believe would cover me. Has anyone else heard this from their hospital?

Hospitals always tell the nursing staff this -- because they want to keep you the professional equivalent of "barefoot and pregnant;" that is, dependent on them and their attorneys for legal advice if anything goes wrong.

Here is another thread with a lot of good discussion on this question:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-blogs/should-i-carry-391596.html

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I never share the fact that I have malpractice insurance either. No one should. Get it to protect yourself and keep it quiet.

What would make you keep it to yourself? I mean, this is not a conversational piece where I would have a reason to announce that I have , but, is there a specific reason why you don't mention it? I have to bring this information to agencies I sign up with, that is a given, but otherwise, I have not mentioned it, simply because it had not come up.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I never share the fact that I have malpractice insurance either. No one should. Get it to protect yourself and keep it quiet. The reason behind this is that if they find out you have insurance often they will add you to the suit in hopes of having your insurance company settle.

Okay, now I get it. Mum's the word!

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The more people that they find out have deep pockets through insurance, the more people who will be named besides the facility in a lawsuit. This is personal info that no one else needs to know. When the time comes, everyone with the need to know will find out soon enough who has insurance and who doesn't.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
The more people that they find out have deep pockets through insurance, the more people who will be named besides the facility in a lawsuit. This is personal info that no one else needs to know. When the time comes, everyone with the need to know will find out soon enough who has insurance and who doesn't.

Gotcha!

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I work for a large teaching hospital that is a state entity. All health care workers are covered. We were told that it would only hurt us to take out our own liability because if we were sued, the people could keep coming after us to get that money too. But I have never heard any complaints. They have a risk management team who has our best interest at heart. Our incident reports are kept on record for years, just in case anything comes up. I think if you work for a private hospital you need your own coverage.

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Specializes in ICU.
Going on with this same thread, my hospital assures me that I do not need any extra insurance, and that they will cover me. This is a large Catholic hospital that I would like to believe would cover me. Has anyone else heard this from their hospital?

I've read that many employers will tell you that same thing. You may be covered by their policy, if they are convinced that you didn't violate any of their rules/regulations/guidelines/policies.

If, however, you forgot to comply with paragraph 37, subsection Z on page 2714 of the Employee's Handbook (Abridged Edition), you might end up high & dry.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I work for a large teaching hospital that is a state entity. All health care workers are covered. We were told that it would only hurt us to take out our own liability because if we were sued, the people could keep coming after us to get that money too. But I have never heard any complaints. They have a risk management team who has our best interest at heart. Our incident reports are kept on record for years, just in case anything comes up. I think if you work for a private hospital you need your own coverage.

But doesn't every hospital have coverage? Any facility can and will face a law suit, and to me, risk management has the best interests of the facility, but not necessarily the employee.

The day I received my newly earned license in the mail, I applied for . I already knew the place I was working for. They are haphazard in EVERYTHING from communication on down and also, I knew I would be working for more places than just this one, so, it was probably to my advantage to do so.

I respect your reasoning, each person does what is best for themselves. But, I have seen many situations go south in an instant over the years, even as a CNA to trust anyone but myself.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
i've read that many employers will tell you that same thing. you may be covered by their policy, if they are convinced that you didn't violate any of their rules/regulations/guidelines/policies.

if, however, you forgot to comply with paragraph 37, subsection z on page 2714 of the employee's handbook (abridged edition), you might end up high & dry.

:yeah::yeah::bow::lol2: that was a good one, and most certainly, when they want to pin the blame, they will find policies from their graves to screw someone. and most of the time, they don't know their own policies enough to even update them. too scary for me.

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