Nurses often wonder about the requirement of them getting medical professional liability insurance. After all, these insurance policies are often exclusively marketed to doctors. However, when malpractice does occur nurses often find themselves without any proper defense. Hospitals and clinics have been known to sue their own nurses for alleged malpractice. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether nurses really need medical professional liability insurance is a resounding yes.
A lawsuit can be career ending for a professional medical caregiver as it can lead to the termination of license. Without professional liability insurance, most nurses are left without a proper legal defence to present their side of the story. If you are a nurse, then the following are the 5 reasons you should get medical professional liability insurance immediately.
1. A Hospital’s Policy Doesn’t Always Serve the Interest of Nurses
If you are working for a doctor, a clinic, or a hospital, then there is a good chance they are already insured. However, counting on your employer’s liability coverage can be a mistake. If the alleged malpractice is targeted towards you, the employer’s medical malpractice insurance insurance may not serve your best interest. If you are held responsible, you need a team of experts exclusively representing your interests.
2. Independent Complaints is Not Covered by the Employer’s Liability Insurance
Patients can file complaints against nurses to the board of nursing. Patients are also free to sue individual nurses for alleged malpractice. Buying medical professional liability insurance allows you to defend yourself against any complaints made against you to the board of nursing. This also keeps you prepared for any independent lawsuits that may be specifically filed against you and not the hospital or clinic you are working for. To defend any complaints made to the board, you need an insurance policy with licensure defence coverage.
3. Nurses Working as Independent Contractors Do Not Get Liability Benefits
When working for reputed hospitals, nurses do remain protected by their employer’s liability coverage, at least to an extent. However, a lot of clinics hire nurses as independent contractors. These contracts may even have clauses protecting employers from any liability for malpractices performed by nurses hired as contractors. In a lot of these cases, nurses are left to legally fend for themselves. Without proper insurance, they may not be prepared to manage any liability claim that trickles down to them.
4. Employer May Lack Adequate Medical Malpractice Insurance
When working for a small local clinic, you should ask about your employer’s medical malpractice insurance. If your employer goes bankrupt resulting from a malpractice lawsuit, you run the risk of not being covered.
5. Keeps Nurses Protected While Volunteering or When Serving People Outside of Work
As a certified nurse, you may choose to volunteer at medical camps and help people outside of work. However, working independently automatically excludes you from your employer’s liability coverage. Armed with medical professional liability insurance, you can take on independent medical work with much more confidence.