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Discussion

malpractice in NICU

I was wondering if NICU nurses need to carry higher malpractice insurance like L&D nurses do? I heard that there is a lot of litigation in L&D, is it the same in the nursery?

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I was wondering if NICU nurses need to carry higher malpractice insurance like L&D nurses do? I heard that there is a lot of litigation in L&D, is it the same in the nursery?

I've never been told to purchase malpractice insurance. It isn't a requirement in NICU, nor do i think it is for any nurse, really. In my 17 yrs. of NICU, I've never had a legal issue: knock on wood!

  • Admin
I was wondering if NICU nurses need to carry higher malpractice insurance like L&D nurses do? I heard that there is a lot of litigation in L&D, is it the same in the nursery?

Check out NSO. www.nso.com for rates

The rates are for RN or LPN, not by specialty area.

I've actually heard that if you have malpractice insurance as an individual nurse, you can be more likely to be named in a suit because you then also have 'guaranteed' money to go after.

That is not true. You should carry your own insurance, it will pay for a lawyer should you need it, and if you deviate one little bit from hospital policy or procedure then the hospital isn't going to cover you. Remember, these people have a while to bring a lawsuit, and it could be years down the road. I've been called for a deposition on an IV infiltrate that I found when I was getting report. This nurse had this kid for 12 hours and there were many missing hours of IV checks, and it was running at 18/hr. It was down to fascia, the burn was horrible and the kid ended up losing the hand. She was named in the suit, and the hospital wouldn't cover her because it was basically her fault.

  • Experts

There are a number of threads here that discuss the pros and cons of having your own coverage; you can search and review them if you're interested. If you really believe that your employer would stand by you if the doo-doo really hit the fan someday at work, I have a bridge in Arizona I'd love to sell you! :) I would never trust an employer to look out for my best interests (if they conflicted even slightly with the institution's interests), and I'm one of those nurses who would never dream of working a single day without my own, individual liability coverage.

Realistically, the chances that you, as a nurse, will ever be sued for malpractice are v. slim. However, the standard nursing liability policies also provide coverage for legal representation and expenses (lost wages, etc.) if you are deposed or called as witness in a suit against someone else, and legal representation and expenses if you have to go before the BON to defend your license. Either of those situations are much more likely to come up during your career than being sued yourself; you would certainly want to have (your own) legal representation in those situations; and just the first hour of consultation with an attorney would cost you more out of pocket than the annual premium for your own coverage (for a generalist RN).

My father is an MD (now retired); he advised me strongly back when I was in nursing school (back in the Dark Ages) to never work without my own liability coverage, and everything I've seen since then in the 20+ years I've been practicing has just reinforced to me what good advice that was.

I don't know why people say if you have malpractice insurance, then you are more likely to be named in a suit ..... that's not true. Please check out NSO for further information on this, as $90/year isn't that much .... especially when we're talking about your license.

All I can say is as soon as I get my NCLEX-RN results that I PASSED, I'm going hunting for malpractice insurance. No way in hell I will practice without it.

  • Admin

Don't wait, CSM08MMS. You can get it right now. And, your rates will be reduced as a new grad.

Free quotes on www.nso.com. Your rates will be approx. $49/year for 1/6 coverage.

I don't have it and have no plans on getting it. I have yet to meet a nurse who has had a judgement against her.

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