Nurses malpractice insurance

Nurses New Nurse

Published

What is the best way to go about getting insurance? How much coverage should a graduate nurse carry?

Status of is found in discovery.

1. Pt is injured-suspected malpractice or negligence (no money without damage)

2. Attorneys obtain med records, sent to Professional as indicated for opinion (Nurse Consultant, Physician)

3. Suit is filed, listing all possible participants

4. Discovery-this is how additional insurance is located-

This is just the 4th step (generalizing) out of tens or hundreds, depending on complications.

Malpractice insurance is completely different from homeowners, auto, life...

But they use those as examples to keep up the (yes, I'm gonna say it) propoganda.

Insurance companies are a business. Out for the money. As a business, they use PR to increase their profits. Notice how involved insurance companies are with nursing schools, giving seminars, lectures with those wonderful meals, training videos. All free. Why is that? Kindness of their hearts?

How quick people are to accept what they are being told by PR. But, that is what business of PR is all about, isn't it?

Again, it is a small price to pay for your peace of mind. It gives me greater peace of mind to NOT carry malpractice insurance.

I never worked OB, L&D, very little experience with peds, renal, neuro, wouldn't even consider discussing them.

Not a lawyer- but working with them, I saw things from a completely different view than as a nurse.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

Of COURSE they are out to make money, I don't think anyone here is dismissing that fact.

There's a fine line between being insured and not being insured ..... it's a gamble you have to take, weighing out the pros and cons of each side. Being insured isn't a gamble .... NOT being insured is the gamble. And I'm not much of a gambler, but that's just me.

To each their own. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

[color=#00407f]nursemike... do you know anyone that this has happened to? or is this just another "fantasy scenario" created to scare people into buying insurance? :chuckle i am more than willing to listen to real facts! :up:

[color=#00407f]i have been a rn for more than 20 years! :nurse:when people decide to sue they will go where there is money and it is very easy to find out who is insured and who is not.

[color=#00407f]i will agree to disagree... :yeah:if you want to buy "peace of mind" go for it. i am not wasting my money thank you very much! :twocents:

[color=#00407f]i sleep very soundly at night!:saint:

[color=#00407f]i am so with you nurse4years!:yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).
[color=#00407f]nursemike... do you know anyone that this has happened to? or is this just another "fantasy scenario" created to scare people into buying insurance? :chuckle i am more than willing to listen to real facts! :up:

[color=#00407f]i have been a rn for more than 20 years! :nurse:when people decide to sue they will go where there is money and it is very easy to find out who is insured and who is not.

[color=#00407f]i will agree to disagree... :yeah:if you want to buy "peace of mind" go for it. i am not wasting my money thank you very much! :twocents:

[color=#00407f]i sleep very soundly at night!:saint:

[color=#00407f]i am so with you nurse4years!:yeah:

i don't know anyone this has happened to as a result of a nursing malpractice suit. i've known a few people who've had their wages attached. what i stated is not a fantasy--it's a legal possibility. nor was it my intention to scare anyone. there are arguments that can be made for and against, of which the price of the insurance seems least significant. of course, that cheap price reflects the insurance company's projection that it won't be paying out a lot of money.

i can only think of one type of insurance that's pretty much certain to pay, eventually, and that pays the survivors, not the insured.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Utilization Management.

I knew two nurses who were railroaded out of jobs (and nearly lost their licenses) because of false allegations by LTC patients who were just beginning to be Sundowners and thought they'd "get even" for issues like being too slow with a sleeping pill.

I know because I was there, and I was nearly a victim of one of these guys also. :stone One of them actually discussed the event with me and finished with, "I just don't like her. She should lose her job for not moving fast enough."

That nurse was out of work for months until the BON addressed the issue and finally cleared her. She nearly lost her home (and her mind with fear and worry) and had to go before the BON without any representation.

The other nurse was fired after the "investigation" by administration and reported to the BON. I don't know what happened to her, but a year later, I was working at the desk with another nurse who was on duty that night, and that nurse told me a completely different version of events than had been circulating in the facility. In other words, that the event HAD happened, but the offender was a different nurse completely.

I figured if it could happen to them, it could happen to me, or you, or anyone, and no way was I going to ever face the BON alone and lose my livelihood over some capricous whim of a family, patient, or management.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

individual malpractice insurance decisions revisited | aorn ...

additional reasons to carry insurance include:

  • protection offered for services rendered as volunteer
  • coverage after left employer or between jobs
  • representation if employer alleges failure to follow facilites policy and procedure
  • representation when reported to board of nursing

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I've posted before that when I was involved with a lawsuit, the attorneys for my employer (who also represented the named nurses) asked first if we had our own insurance. They made it abundantly clear that we could expect them to stop representing us at any time for various reasons. As an aside, I feel I could have done better in having my own interests protected had I used my insurance to obtain my own representation. Having your own insurance is a necessity that pays off when you need it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Again, I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I would not ask the hospital what they recommend; I can tell you right now that they're going to tell you you don't need your own insurance. They will say this because they don't want you to have your own attorney if you find yourself in a potential-lawsuit situation at work; they don't want you to have any legal advice or representation other than the hospital's counsel to be telling you what to do in that situation, and, remember, those attorneys are being paid to represent the hospital's interests, not yours. If you find yourself in that kind of situation at work, you definitely want to be advised and represented by an attorney who is there to protect your interests, not your employer's.

I don't want to sound like some kind of conspiracy theorist, and I don't mean to suggest that any of this means the hospital administrators or attorneys are evil, or anything; but I've been in nursing and in hospitals for a long time, and I've seen how this stuff works. Hospital attorneys are being paid big bucks to protect the hospital's interests, and they will do whatever they can get away with, legally, in order to do that -- there's nothing wrong with that; that's how the system is supposed to work. But how that works out in real life is that individual nurses get sacrificed.

You never know, from one day to the next, when you're suddenly going to find yourself in a situation like this. If you do, one day, and you don't already have your own insurance, you're screwed. You can't get your own coverage (for that situation) at that point because there is no insurance company on the planet that will sell you coverage for an incident that has already happened, so you're going to have to pay for representation out of your own pocket -- and, for most nurses, just the first hour of consultation with an attorney (and every hour after that!) will cost you more than the annual premium for your own insurance ...

I found every word in this post to be true, from personal experience. My employer provided representation for the nurses involved for their own benefit. None of the nurses named in this lawsuit work for this company today. I was canned by this employer in the middle of the lawsuit and I did nothing wrong. Go figure.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
how about none! if you don't have any insurance people will not be going after you to try and get money. that is what it is all about in the end. so simply... don't! :nurse:

i believe that blanket statements are inappropriate and unfair to the person asking who really does not know what to do. a person may feel that is a waste of money but many others have valid reasons for buying it. even if it's for their peace of mind it is $97 well spent for them.

in my situation, i know the hospital tells us they have us covered but i've not seen that in writting anywhere. for a mere $8.09 a month i'm not taking any chances but that's just my decision. it may not be right for others. each person must make up their own mind. :twocents:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg.

I have a question, I'm trying to get insurance through NSO but it ask me for the state of residency. I thought at the end of the application process it would ask me what state I practice in but it didn't. Which is the problem, I don't live in the same state that I practice, so I'm not sure what I should do. I used proliability for nursing school but they are charging more than 50% of what NSO is charging. Anyone know any other good insurance site(s)???

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.
I have a question, I'm trying to get insurance through NSO but it ask me for the state of residency. I thought at the end of the application process it would ask me what state I practice in but it didn't. Which is the problem, I don't live in the same state that I practice, so I'm not sure what I should do.?

I had a similar question when I applied to NSO for insurance. At the time, I was not licensed in my state of residency. To further complicate matters, I was not employed either, but needed in order to complete the clinical portion of my refresher course. I called their toll-free number and explained my situation to a representative who helped me to fill out the form. I was covered within a few days.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nursing Ed, Ob/GYN, AD, LTC, Rehab.

Trust no one. Protect yourself. Its cheaper then you think (100 a year). Enough said.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment