Should I Carry Nursing Malpractice (Liability) Insurance?

[sirI]

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 Liability Insurance 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

• CM&F Nursing Medical Malpractice Program
• American Nurses Association
• Nurses Service Organization

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.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

So glad you are doing this, NurseJennDenn.

And, good luck with your first RN position!!

[cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP]

I was looking at NSO and I can get a policy that covers me as a CNA and as a nursing student for a pretty reasonable price. I know CNAs are probably never named in lawsuits but I don't want to take any chances because I know that if something bad happens in the end I have to be ready to protect myself because my employer will only be looking out for themselves.

!Chris

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Great idea, !Chris.

And, yes, CNAs are named in suits. You are wise to try and protect your best interests.

[WildcatFanRN, BSN, RN]

One thing I was told by my last employer about malpractice insurance was that you HAVE to disclose this fact to your employer. IF you are named in a suit against the hospital and the families lawyer finds out you have your own insurance they can then name you directly. I don't know if this was bogus or not, but why would you have to disclose to the hospital that you do carry insurance? So they can cut you loose if something happens? I haven't gotten any yet, but it's on my list to do along with joining my state's nurses's association.

[WildcatFanRN, BSN, RN]

SirI, I forgot to ask. It's been over a year since I graduated, but not over a year since I was licensed. Will I still qualify for the new grad rate, especially since I will soon be starting my first RN job?

[elkpark]

WildcatFanRN said:

One thing I was told by my last employer about malpractice insurance was that you HAVE to disclose this fact to your employer. IF you are named in a suit against the hospital and the families lawyer finds out you have your own insurance they can then name you directly. I don't know if this was bogus or not, but why would you have to disclose to the hospital that you do carry insurance? So they can cut you loose if something happens? I haven't gotten any yet, but it's on my list to do along with joining my state's nurses's association.

I've been licensed for almost 25 years, in three different states, with more employers than I can count, and I've never heard this before (and I've never had an employer ask whether I had insurance). Attorneys will name you specifically in a suit if you are directly involved in an incident, regardless of whether or not you have insurance. (I've heard of suits being filed naming "Nurse A," "Nurse B," Nurse C," etc., before the attorneys even know which nurses, specifically, were involved -- they go back and fill in the names later). Your employer will cut you loose if they can find any justification whatsoever for doing so, regardless of whether you have your own insurance or not -- and if that happens and you don't already have your own coverage, you're just out of luck.

[WildcatFanRN, BSN, RN]

elkpark said:

I've been licensed for almost 25 years, in three different states, with more employers than I can count, and I've never heard this before (and I've never had an employer ask whether I had insurance). Attorneys will name you specifically in a suit if you are directly involved in an incident, regardless of whether or not you have insurance. (I've heard of suits being filed naming "Nurse A," "Nurse B," Nurse C," etc., before the attorneys even know which nurses, specifically, were involved -- they go back and fill in the names later). Your employer will cut you loose if they can find any justification whatsoever for doing so, regardless of whether you have your own insurance or not -- and if that happens and you don't already have your own coverage, you're just out of luck.

I thought it sounded fishy. No where on any application I've ever filled out is there a section asking whether you have your own Liability Insurance or not. I wasn't able to afford to get any when I was an LPN and I'm going to darn well make sure I can now.

[truern]

WildcatFanRN said:

I thought it sounded fishy. No where on any application I've ever filled out is there a section asking whether you have your own liability insurance or not. I wasn't able to afford to get any when I was an LPN and I'm going to darn well make sure I can now.

I have Liability Insurance thru the company siri mentioned and it's $99/yr for the highest coverage they offer. Nobody at work has ever asked me whether or not I have insurance....I just think it's the prudent thing to do!

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

WildcatFanRN said:

SirI, I forgot to ask. It's been over a year since I graduated, but not over a year since I was licensed. Will I still qualify for the new grad rate, especially since I will soon be starting my first RN job?

Hello, WildcatFanRN,

With NSO, the discount rates apply to those in their 1st year after graduation, not licensure, so you will not be able to enjoy that benefit.

[WildcatFanRN, BSN, RN]

sirI said:

Hello, WildcatFanRN,

With NSO, the discount rates apply to those in their 1st year after graduation, not licensure, so you will not be able to enjoy that benefit.

I can get the discounted rate, IF I somehow get the money for it before May 23rd. It's $50.

[VACRNA]

Not sure if this has been covered but it you stay within your Standard of Practice you are OK without an individual policy. Another reason is usually you have much deeper pockets standing in front of you. A malpractice lawyer is more apt to sue the doctor or medical institution where you practice

[Keysnurse2008]

elkpark said:

Your employer will cut you loose if they can find any justification whatsoever for doing so, regardless of whether you have your own insurance or not -- and if that happens and you don't already have your own coverage, you're just out of luck.

OK...to clarify this for all of us. Do you mean that if we have functioned outside of our scope of practice or we have violated of SOC's or the hospitals policies then the nurse can be named and not covered under the hospitals malpractice coverage? Does that mean the hospital cant be held legally responsible financially for any negligent actions of the nurse/md/ etc etc etc? bc....if that is so then a lot of the hospitals could not be held legally accountable for the malpractice actions of the nurse.

And that isn't right either. I mean....if my child suffered an anoxic brain injury d/t a nurses negligence...or a doctors negligence that violated SOC's then that lets the hospital off scot free....or does it? See this is where a lot of nurses get confused. Because we always kinda think that all malpractice litigation has no factual premise. But in reality according to all kinds of studies like "to err is human ", and others,....the reality is that there are so many people each day that die d/t a medical or nursing error....and that very very few of those deaths / disabilities result in any type of legal action.

I think one study said the number of pt deaths d/t medical and nsg error is the equivalent to a loaded /packed jumbo jet full of people crashing every day or every few days. and that is reality. So a lot of healthcare personnel are fearful of attaining malpractice insurance for fear that they will not be covered under their facilities malpractice insurance.

So....to clarify are you saying if they violated the SOC's or P/P's for that facility that the nurse/md is not covered under the facilities umbrella malpractice policy...or does it just potentially give rise to the possibility they could legally hang the nurse out to dry for their actions?