To insure or not to insure??

mysonsmama · Jul 19, 2012

Get insurance. Always have it. Someone posted on a similar thread a while back that if you make a mistake the hospitals first step is going to be to fire you then their malpractice won't cover you. Then you are SOL.

So IMO always carry insurance.

Ayvah, RN · Jul 19, 2012

Never trust your employer to have your back. Having your own insurance is a good investment. Would recommend Professional Liability Insurance for nurses, nursing medical malpractice.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2012

In this day and age, I would not trust the people who employ us to have our backs. Believe me when I say that they'll look for any reason not to cover you.

Read this very informative article about whether you should obtain Liability Insurance. Click on the link below to read it.

https://allnurses.com/legal-nursing/should-i-carry-391596.html

DoGoodThenGo · Jul 19, 2012

I have been a nurse a little over 18 months now. I spent a year in med-surg and then when we moved from North FL down to South FL I got a job in ICU. I had already been debating whether of not to carry my own nursing insurance, but now that I work in ICU it has been on my mind a little more. I know as long as you follow policy and document well you should have a rep with the hospital so I don't want to waste my money. Does anyone have any experience/opinions for this.
Thanks!

There are plenty of threads on this matter elsewhere on this forum, suggest you read on what has been said before.

Upshot is to answer your query, yes you should carry your own liability/malpractice insurance. It does not cost that much and like other forms of insurance should you ever need it having made the payments will seem like nothing. OTOH not having it and ithe need arises you may be out of luck.

Never trust any facility to have your back when it comes to insurance. For one thing it means you have to deal with whomever is assigned to you and that person or persons may not have your best interests at heart. Their first loyalty will be to whomever is paying the bills. You may get great legal representation/advice, then again you may not. You may only get top drawer service long as you're of use to the facility and its' case, afterwards they may throw you under a bus and wash their hands of the matter.

There is also the matter whom ever is advising the facility will urge them and *you* to settle a case. That my be good for the hospital but what about your license?

Being as all this may you should consult your hospital's legal department and or ask questions. Does the facility have malpractice insurance or is it self insured? If they do have insurance and or other legal services that cover the nursing service what are they? How does it compare with a stand alone private policy? Is the insurance provided (if offered) dependent upon employment? Meaning if you are terminated or leave the facility but later are sued because of something that occured during your emply will they still provide coverage.