Malpractice insurance

[socalchinesenurse]

We have a few lawsuits that are going on in the hospital now, our manager advised all the nurses in my unit to purchase malpractice insurance, it was stated that "if the lawsuit is due to the nurse's fault, our facility will not cover the nurse." I am very confused about this. One of my co workers said we should not buy insurance because the plaintiff lawyer will go after you, but if you don't have one then there is nothing the plaintiff can get from you. So should every RN carry malpractice insurance? Please advise!!!

[elkpark]

There are quite a few older threads here that discuss the pros and (perceived) cons of carrying your own liability coverage. If you use the "search" function (upper right hand corner of the screen) to find them, you will find lots of information.

I am one of those RNs who would never consider working a day without my own coverage. My father, a physician, advised me back when I was in nursing school (in the Dark Ages :)) to never depend on an employer to look out for my interests and to always carry my own Liability Insurance, and everything I've seen over the years in my career has just reinforced what good advice that was.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

The plaintiff's attorney does not know whether you have malpractice insurance at the time he/she chooses to name you as a defendant in a lawsuit.

Nurses who have no malpractice coverage have been successfully sued. I know of a nurse whose wages are being garnished to slowly pay off a settlement.

Truthfully, I'd feel naked if I worked without having Liability Insurance.

[socalchinesenurse]

Thank you for the reply! I have had my own Liability Insurance ever since I was a nursing student. It's just that my co worker said the plaintiff lawyer will definitely go after you if you have malpractice insurance and that made me second guess myself. Thank you for all your input.