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?

Specializes in Med/Surg - Home Health - Education.
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 malpractice insurance? 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?

I have , and fortunately I have never had to use it. However, I do know of nurses who have used their insurance to defend them in court. Malpractice insurance does not defend you against the Board of Nursing. That is an Administrative Hearing. Malpractice insurance defends you when you are sued for malpractice -- negligence, wrongful medication that caused damage to a pratient, etc. These are defended in a Court of Law. However, you can be called to the BON for an administrative hearing on the same issures. Your malpractice insurance does not help you there.

Keep your insurance. I remember a nursing student who stated "it is silly having that insurance, you are never going to be sued." She is the only nurse out of my graduating class that was sued within the first 5 years, and she had NO insurance. She lost everything, including her licenses to practice.

YOU NEED MALPRACTICE INSURANCE. The hospital or facility says it will defend you. Who are the lawyers working for whe the hospital is sued or the nursing home, etc, and you are named in the law suit? The hospital is defended. You are out there on a limb, and the limb is ready to break. That attorney is only going to defend the hospital. They will let you sink or swim on your on.

Hope this helps. :yawn:

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I have malpractice insurance, and fortunately I have never had to use it. However, I do know of nurses who have used their insurance to defend them in court. Malpractice insurance does not defend you against the Board of Nursing. That is an Administrative Hearing. Malpractice insurance defends you when you are sued for malpractice -- negligence, wrongful medication that caused damage to a pratient, etc. These are defended in a Court of Law. However, you can be called to the BON for an administrative hearing on the same issures. Your malpractice insurance does not help you there.

This is not necessarily true -- my Marsh liability policy (the standard policy they offer) specifically states that I am covered for legal representation if I need to appear before the BON, and the coverage I used to have through NSO also specifically included language that I was covered for BON appearances. I would not purchase coverage that did not include that, since I'm much more likely, during the course of my career, to have to go before the board than I am to be sued for malpractice.

Calling professional liability coverage "" is somewhat of a misnomer, as the standard policies cover quite a bit more than just malpractice suits.

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What I don't understand is why they don't want us to have our own? I just can't imagine anyone would rather sue the nurse than the hospital and I'd assume that even if we did something wrong that the hospital would be liable anyway.

The reason employers don't want us to have our own coverage is that they want us to have to depend on the hospital's attorneys for legal advice if there's a "situation." They don't want us getting independent legal advice from someone who is looking out for our interests rather than the facility's.

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Specializes in He who hesitates is probably right....
The reason employers don't want us to have our own coverage is that they want us to have to depend on the hospital's attorneys for legal advice if there's a "situation." They don't want us getting independent legal advice from someone who is looking out for our interests rather than the facility's.

Excellent analysis. Our hospital's legal staff actively discourages RNs from securing , although my wife and I both have it. In a suit, the hospital will let the nurse without independent representation get way out on a limb, then they will saw it off.

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Not sure if you realize this but the most important reason for insurance is in the case of a legal investigation. If you are being deposed you can hire a lawyer and get reinbursed.

I had an incident over 20 years ago where I am sooo glad I had the insurance. Not sure if any of the canadian nurses remember the Toronto Sick kids hospital incident in the 80's where 8 babies were given a "lethal injection of digoxin" (problem is . Susan Neles was charged, but what people do not know all of the nurses who worked any of the shifts near those babies was suspect and even after she was charged there was much investigation of other nurses who were on the shift at the time of the deaths). Among them was me and another nurse Nancy. While Susan did not have she hired a lawyer. I had the insurance and got a lawyer the third nurse Nancy did not have any liability insurance so she went it alone . I got the representation and went through the terrifying deposition without a hitch my documentation saved me. Nancy on the other hand went it alone however her poor documentation almost got charged because of it. She ended up being"a person of interest' and for awhile, Susan was forgotten. (She and Susan was later found innocent as was every nurse as it could not be proven that the infants were injected.) but not until she had to hire her own lawyer and spend alot of money trying to prove her innocence( the hospital did nothing). The hospital did not lift a finger to help with legal representation as "they were not being sued". Susan Neles later toured the country telling about the horror she endured being falsley accused and what to do to save yourself (apparently her documentation saved her as well because at one of the deaths she was in another area giving meds to someone else and another time she was at lunch (yes she documented she left the care of her patient to another nurse(nancy). Susan was able to sue the government because she was charged and lost her job. Nancy was not so lucky because she was not charged she could not sue, Because of that I will never be without insurance and I am an anal documenter .

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Specializes in Med/Surg - Home Health - Education.

That may be true. Depending on the state where you practice, your employer may have the right to collect any damages attributed to you, in a lawsuit. I know that is true in Florida.

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Hi , that is a good question. I have NSO for >20 years now. Go to their [email protected] to find out coverage information. These days no matter what level of care we in, we can become easy targets for law suits. You may think that because you don't own a home you have "nothing too loose". A former coworker of mine has to pay a monthly installment payment of more that $150 to cover her attorney fees. She did not have coverage and hired her own attorney when she had to go infront of the Board of Nursing due to a med error. I think most nurses belief that malpractice is only good for when a patient or their family sues. Dependending on severity of your med error you may find yourself in front the the State Board of Nursing. These insurance cover your when you need an attorney. Please check into it. You are not just protecting your assets you are protecting YOUR LICENSE

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Interesting discussion...but as with any insurance it's better to have and not need than need and not have! If you've done no wrong NO ONE gives a rip whether or not you have insurance--they're coming after you, that is their right. And if you haven't made an error, just defending yourself can be exceptionally costly, even if you leave it up to your hospital to provide council. In most cases, win or loose, they WILL come after you for any expenses they incurred because of your involvement.

It has been my experience, though, that nurses have more to fear from their employers than patients. All the malpractice coverage in the world won't help you if you've been wrongfully terminated and your 'in its back pocket' Union sides with management. I was even advised to NOT seek Unemployment Compensation because it would "look bad for my case" and be a show of "bad faith." At age 59 with 37 years tenure you'd think I would have been smart enough to get my own lawyer. But, then, I'd never been fired before. Once you've been stripped of your dignity, pride and basic trust, loosing your full pension and accrued benefit days (275!) with no chance of rehire ANYWHERE seems insignificant...until you sign up for Skimpy Social Security when your savings are depleted. THEN it matters.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

I do not carry . When I had my own medical consulting business I carried a million dollar policy but now that I am back working for a hospital I no longer see the need.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I do not carry malpractice insurance. When I had my own medical consulting business I carried a million dollar policy but now that I am back working for a hospital I no longer see the need.

Hi Diane,

If you get a chance maybe read through the posts here. Not putting down your choice not to carry it but I have personally seen times where good nurses were thrown under the bus. Sadly the minute anything out of the ordinary happens it seems they are in denial mode and try to position the facility in a way that it has no liability and will charge that it was the negligence of a staff member.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I did about 10 years ago as a traveler. The plaintiff named every nurse on the chart for punitive damages less than a week before the trial was to start. By naming me, I got individual representation and an injunction to postpone the trial. This resulted in an out of court settlement but only after all nurses named were removed from the case. This was a silly case of a decube that was seen, documented and reported appropriately. The wife of the elderly retired attorney who was the patient falsified records perjuring herself.

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I do not carry malpractice insurance. When I had my own medical consulting business I carried a million dollar policy but now that I am back working for a hospital I no longer see the need.

diane, please read the post immediately preceding yours....

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