Is malpractice insurance worth it?

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I work for a large hospital system as a floor nurse. I'm curious to know if getting insurance is a good thing to have. I have been given mixed reviews about it. Higher ups (at work) say it's not needed if you follow protocol to a t (I understand that and try to do so!). However, I've also heard that you're a target for malpractice if the other party learns that you have insurance- you're an even bigger target and on a radar. I'll take any stories/experiences you want to share.

On 8/4/2020 at 12:46 PM, amoLucia said:

When we read of nurses, esp the newbies here making MAJOR errors, my mind starts thinking poss lawsuit fodder! In fact, there's currently another post right now where a newbie had an incident on her shift, and another respondent talked about suing that newbie in her facility! And that's within the membership here! Think about it - one member HERE recommending that another member HERE be sued! We live in such a litigious society (and I believe it's getting worse because of these C19 times).

Oh that thread. Yeah, that member is projecting onto the newbie member. SMH

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Specializes in retired LTC.
7 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

Oh that thread. Yeah, that member is projecting onto the newbie member. SMH

Yes, that one. In reality, I doubt that that poster is a HC person. I asked, but no response.

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Any nurse without is a financially illiterate fool.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
22 minutes ago, DeeAngel said:

Any nurse without malpractice insurance is a financially illiterate fool.

WELL SAID!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I work from home and still carry it! Uninterrupted since graduation in 2008.

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Specializes in Med-surg, telemetry, oncology.

Mine costs a little over $100/year. I was required to have for the entire duration of my BSN program. I opted to stay with the same company after graduation.

I’ve never needed it, but it is there if I do. Btw, no one will know that you have it unless you tell them. It is your own personal safety net. And the way I see it, if doctors need it (and they do) then so do we.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
3 minutes ago, caffeinatednurse said:

... I’ve never needed it, but it is there if I do. Btw, no one will know that you have it unless you tell them. It is your own personal safety net. And the way I see it, if doctors need it (and they do) then so do we.

Couldn't agree more!

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I had a similar statement made to me when I hired into a new job “you don’t need insurance, we have it for you”..

The thing is, the person who made that statement wasn’t a nurse..

I can say that a lawsuit for malpractice isn’t the only danger that nurses face occupationally.

Just a quick skim of the contents here on this forum will tell you that patients (and families) today have never been more entitled and demanding than they are now.

If they can see you, they’re going to try to find a job for you. Fetch this, do that, fluff this, get me x, y, and z, and do it now!

Any reluctance on the nurse’s part to immediately drop whatever you’re doing and comply will be seen as an attitude problem, careless indifference, malpractice, sexism, racism, whatever “ism” and it’ll be reported and noted, and used against the nurse. Management will fully support and encourage that kind of complaint, because it’s cheaper to bury a nurse than it is to staff appropriately.

Read your state’s nurse practice act. Denying anyone under your care anything can be twisted into “neglect” and “abuse”. Delaying getting someone some green jello could be dressed-up into an abuse or neglect complaint to your state board. With the current push to reduce narcotic painkiller use, I’m quite surprised that every nurse doesn’t have “neglect” complaints against them. The nurse has to tell the patient “no”, not the doc who actually denied the narcs.

You don’t have license-defense coverage from your employer. If someone makes a complaint about a nurse in my state, the board conveniently puts an asterisk next to their name and “under investigation for patient abuse/neglect” in red letters underneath their name when you look them up in the “license verification” database, and that notation stays there until the complaint is investigated by the board. Which might take six months or a year, or longer, in the case of “minor” complaints.

That’s right, nurses get a crimson-letter next to their name and THEN the state investigates..

License defense insurance doesn’t actually even protect you from getting a crimson letter, it just gets you an attorney to protect yourself from even more onerous consequences after you get your red letters.

My state has even gone so far as to create a violation that isn’t even a “violation”.. they can issue a “letter of concern”, which they claim isn’t actually “discipline”, it’s just a way to smear you without having to prove you did anything wrong..

get insurance.

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Specializes in Pedi; Geriatrics; office; Pedi home care..

My feeling on this is: Better to have and not need; than to need and not have.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Allgood - words of wisdom!

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Specializes in SCRN.

We had a malpractice situation, patient is alive ( not yet well) and family is filing a lawsuit. Did 3 negligent nurses have insurance? Nope. Hospital is getting sued, and the nurses as well; somehow they are still employed.

Get a .

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Specializes in retired LTC.

RN-to-BSN - my limited understanding of HC facility lawsuits issues is that facilities will be super reluctant do anything to an employee that might, maybe NEGATIVELY reflect back on the facility. Like they need to save face and their public image.

As in 'oh yeah, our employee nurse WAS WRONG, that's why we fired her'. NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, ain't gonna happen BEFORE or DURING the lawsuit!! It would look bad for the facility. But AFTER the lawsuit ... the employee will most likely face the facility's wrath & fury.

Facilities (and their chains) have professional TOP NOTCH legal representation on retainer, and can also be on their own Boards of Officers. My recent hospitalization's 2 co-CEOs are a JD and an MD JD. Is there any surprise that they are interested in my response to the Press Ganey letter/survey sent to me?!?!

Without their own protection, nurses will always be at the mercy of employers and lawsuit-happy pts/families.

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