I receive these very interesting updates periodically and thought they might be of good general interest, to contribute to the recurrent "losing my license!!" and "should I have malpractice insurance?" threads.
"The report offers nurses...greater insight into malpractice claims as well as licensing board actions brought against their colleagues and facilities. ... Surveys were conducted using practitioners having experienced a professional liability claim along with those who did not to compare factors which may have contributed to increased exposure.
This three-part report covers professional liability claims, licensing protection claims and selected samples from the NSO 2011 Qualitative Nurse Work Profile Survey.
Highlights of the report include:
Professional Liability Claims: Over $83 million was paid in indemnity (judgments and settlements) and expenses on behalf of nurses during the study period, realizing an average total incurred of $204,594 per claim.
License Protection Claims: Fifty-seven percent of RNs who experienced a license defense paid claim worked in a hospital while 56% of LPN/LVNs worked in an aging services setting.
Nurse Work Profile Survey: The number of claims significantly increased, the longer respondents worked as nurses. The highest percentage involved respondents who had worked more than 21 years as a nurse."
