Need Malpractice Insurance Info

deepz · Apr 13, 2007

Ask a knowledgeable Florida lawyer.

Hi Everyone
I just started recently with an anesthesia group in FL as a CRNA. Unfortunately there was a minor incident with one of my cases and the patient is seeking compensation. In the meantime I have recently submitted my resignation to this group and will be working for a different group in this state. Do I need to get TAIL coverage in case this case decided to haunt me within the next 2 yrs ??? My understanding is that cases can be pursued up to 2 yrs after the incident occurs. I just want to cover my butt. Does anyone have any suggestions re coverage?

jwk · Apr 13, 2007

Hi Everyone
I just started recently with an anesthesia group in FL as a CRNA. Unfortunately there was a minor incident with one of my cases and the patient is seeking compensation. In the meantime I have recently submitted my resignation to this group and will be working for a different group in this state. Do I need to get TAIL coverage in case this case decided to haunt me within the next 2 yrs ??? My understanding is that cases can be pursued up to 2 yrs after the incident occurs. I just want to cover my butt. Does anyone have any suggestions re coverage?

Let's see - You just started with a group, and have already submitted your resignation ,and already have a "minor incident" that a patient want's money for, apparently enough money that you think you might need tail coverage (just how minor was it) ? Yikes.

You should know what type of malpractice coverage you have, whether it's claims-made coverage (with which you may indeed need tail coverage) or occurrence coverage which would normally cover you during the time period you were with this group.

core0 · Apr 14, 2007

Hi Everyone
I just started recently with an anesthesia group in FL as a CRNA. Unfortunately there was a minor incident with one of my cases and the patient is seeking compensation. In the meantime I have recently submitted my resignation to this group and will be working for a different group in this state. Do I need to get TAIL coverage in case this case decided to haunt me within the next 2 yrs ??? My understanding is that cases can be pursued up to 2 yrs after the incident occurs. I just want to cover my butt. Does anyone have any suggestions re coverage?

Cases can be pursued much longer than that depending on the state. Cases concerning minors can be pursued for a number of years after the patient turns 18. The answer to wether you need a tail depends on the type of coverage you have. There are two types of coverage occurence and claims made. An occurence policy pays for any claim that happened during the policy period no matter when it is made. For this you do not need a tail. A claims made policy only pays for claims made when the policy is in effect. This type needs a tail. You should never go without a tail. Hopefully your contract covered this and the group will pay for the tail.

If you carry your own insurance (ie it is under your name instead of the group) then you can continue the coverage with the new group and you do not have to get a tail (make sure the new group will pay the tail if you leave). The tail generally costs the same as the last years premium for PA's and NP's. I am not sure how it works for CRNA's. There is another type of policy that you can buy as part of a new policy (kind of a reverse tail).

Here is a pretty good write up on insurace that explains the ins and outs (it is for PA's but applies to almost any NPP) which was coincidently put out today.

http://www.aapa.org/gandp/risky.html

David Carpenter, PA-C

tweetylyn · Apr 14, 2007

Thank you all for the helpful information. The reason for my resignation was completely unrelated to this incident. It just so happened that I found out about the case around the same time the resignation was submitted. Talk about "bad timing". I just needed some info on the malpractice details.