I've been reading here for years and have been an RN for many years. I've read many posts about whether or not it was thought that a nurse getting their own malpractice ins was a good idea. I've not seen any poster reply that has personal experience with this. So, without saying anything about the situation, I wanted to say that, unfortunately, I have this experience. I have always been a very careful nurse and never, ever thought this would happen to me. But on the safe side, I always kept malpractice Ins. This situation has been the most horrible, stressful thing I have ever gone through in my entire life. Whether you are really at fault or not, you still have to go through the horrible process and feel like a criminal. However, it would have been much worse had I not had my own Ins. Yes, your employer has Ins on you, but they may not have your best interest at heart. If you find yourself in a lawsuit and have your own Ins, all you do is call the Ins co, explain the situation and they will provide you with an experienced, reputable attorney. If they do not live near you, they go to YOU. This is at no extra cost to you. If I had not had this Ins, I would have had to find my own attorney at my expense. Also, if heaven forbid, you get turned over to the board of nursing, the ins. I have will provide you an attorney for this also. No one should ever go before the board alone.
I just wanted to let all of my fellow nurses know that it DOES happen to nurses. Nurses get sued!! And it does not always happen in nursing areas where lawsuits are prevalent either. It also does not just happen with med errors. Nurses are responsible for so much, you can be sued for almost anything you have anything to do with. Nursing is so stressful anyway, why not at least help decrease the stress by having your own malpractice ins. who provide you with your own lawyer that has YOUR best interest at heart? It is so cheap to have. NO nurse should ever be without it. Take it from me, I know.
