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Should I Carry Nursing Malpractice (Liability) Insurance?

Should I get nursing malpractice insurance?

Malpractice (liability) insurance is the Nurse’s advocate as it provides essential legal and financial security. Many Nurses go "bare" and never really consider Liability insurance as important. Just as many think, "I'm not a Physician", or, "I've never known a Nurse to be sued", or, "It costs too much", or, "I'll take my chances; it's too much trouble". For whatever reason you may have, just be sure you are well informed before you make any final decisions about your future.

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Should I get nursing malpractice insurance?

This question comes up frequently and is asked of me quite often, "should I carry malpractice protection?"

What is Malpractice?

Simply put, it is a failure to adhere to a standard of care or conduct by a professional such as a Physician, Nurse, Attorney, etc. Malpractice occurs when it can be proven that the professional had a duty to provide a standard of care/conduct, breached that duty, an injury or damage resulted, and the injury/damage was caused by the breach.

No matter how educated, confident, and careful the Nurse is, unintentional mistakes can and will happen. Accidents will occur. And, unfortunately, willful neglect can be an issue. Injury and death very often are the results of mistakes, accidents, and neglect. Families want to know what happened. Even in the best scenario, the Nurse feels embarrassed and ultimately fears what the damage could do to a perfect professional reputation. Nurses must have the option of protecting their professional reputations and personal assets. Having individual is a smart solution.

Nurses will often make the following statement

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My employer covers me so I don't need my own malpractice/liability policy.

Yes, your employer's policy may cover you, but only up to a point. Remember: Your employer's policy is created to fit their specific needs and protects them first. You may even be told (by your employer HR) that you do not need your own policy. What they do not tell you is that they want you to be represented by their attorneys. They do not want "outside" representation for they know that their best interests will not be first and foremost.

All malpractice liability insurance policies have limits of liability. If you are only covered by your employer's insurance, other defendants employed at your entity may and probably do share your liability limits under the same policy. If you, as well as others, are named in a suit, your legal costs, including any settlement, could exceed your employer's shared liability limits. This would mean out-of-pocket expenses for you.

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What type of policy and how much coverage do I need as a Nurse?

These are questions that are very important when considering a policy.

Two Popular Policies

  • Occurrence-based - any covered incident occurring while the policy is in effect even if the policy is now canceled and/or you have retired
  • Claims-made - any covered incident only while the policy is in effect

The cost of a policy is economical and reasonable. For example, the annual premium could cover the first hour billed by Attorney. $1,000,000/$6,000,000 coverage premiums are approximate $100/year in most states for the Registered Nurse (RN) as well as for the Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse (LPN/LVN).

Links of Interest

One major benefit of an individual policy that is often overlooked or taken for granted when considering coverage is license protection. Nurses need to be aware that this will extend beyond their employer's coverage and includes discipline issues that can be brought up by the individual Nurse's Board of Nursing (BON). Many Nurses do not have the financial ability to go against the BON, therefore, license protection is a must.

Another all-important beneficial consideration is that policies normally will include coverage regarding libel, slander and patient confidentiality, including HIPAA issues. These issues can be troublesome and include a great cost for the Nurse.

Finally, a common statement that is incorrect and based on myth ...

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Malpractice liability insurance will make me a target and I'll be named in a lawsuit.

When being named in a lawsuit, no one knows you have your own personal policy unless you have revealed this information. Only after a lawsuit is filed and only during the period of the discovery phase is this information available.

So, do you carry your own individual malpractice/liability insurance? In the end, the question of whether or not the Nurse should carry malpractice/liability insurance is a personal one and should be seriously considered.

The peace of mind knowing that you are covered is overwhelming.

The peace of overwhelming reassurance.

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sirI

About sirI, MSN, APRN, NP (Admin)

sirI is an OB-GYN NP-BC, (Emeritus), FNP-BC, and Legal Nurse Consultant. Specialty areas include OB-GYN, trauma, med-legal consulting, forensics, and education. She conducts seminars for Nursing Students, Nurses, physicians, and other healthcare providers regarding how to avoid litigation, assisting with depositions, and conducting "Mock Trials" where the students are the players in the court proceedings. sirI is a Senior Administrator for allnurses.com.

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oramar

oramar

1 Article; 5,758 Posts

One bright spot in my financial year(unemployed but still carrying it) is the fact that my did not go up this year.

sirI

sirI, MSN, APRN, NP

18 Articles; 13,677 Posts

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

That is good news, oramar.

cjcsoon2bnp

cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP

8 Articles; 1,156 Posts

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

That's really interesting, I honestly haven't put much thought into that. So sirI at what point would you recommend that we look into ? I am still a student but I want to be prepared for these kind of things ahead of time.

!Chris :specs:

VickyRN

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN

105 Articles; 5,349 Posts

Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds. Has 16 years experience.

Excellent advice, sirI! I encourage my students to purchase their own upon graduation. (In our program, each student is required to purchase liability insurance at a very inexpensive student rate from a provider that contracts with our college of nursing.)

sirI

sirI, MSN, APRN, NP

18 Articles; 13,677 Posts

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.
cjcsoon2brn said:
That's really interesting, I honestly haven't put much thought into that. So sirI at what point would you recommend that we look into malpractice insurance? I am still a student but I want to be prepared for these kind of things ahead of time.

!Chris :specs:

Hello, !Chris

Like VickyRN said, I, too, advise my students to secure personal/individual . But, I advise them to purchase while still a student.

With NSO, these rates are around $29 /year for 1,000,000/6,000,000 coverage. It is rare a nursing student is successfully sued, but they are named in lawsuits. It is, as I pointed out, a small fee for peace of mind.

donsterRN

donsterRN, ASN, BSN

2,558 Posts

Specializes in Cardiac Care. Has 10 years experience.

This is excellent information to have!

My program briefly discussed with us, but no one (to the best of my memory) actually made recommendations. My nursing journals always have the NSO insurance application at the front of the magazine, but I honestly never really paid much attention. You can bet I will now. As a matter of fact, I'll complete an app today. It's well worth it not to worry about it.

Thanks again!

sirI

sirI, MSN, APRN, NP

18 Articles; 13,677 Posts

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Smart, donster.

You will receive the same student rates for your 1st year after graduation, too, with NSO.

emtb2rn

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B

2,939 Posts

Specializes in Emergency. Has 21 years experience.

Got my NSO insurance when I was a student. In our litigious society, the small cost of having nursing makes it almost a no-brainer.

sirI

sirI, MSN, APRN, NP

18 Articles; 13,677 Posts

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

You are absolutely correct, emtb2rn!!

madwife2002

madwife2002, BSN, RN

74 Articles; 4,777 Posts

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN. Has 26 years experience.

Thanks sirI have just done it and my rate for AZ was $99

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