Do You Need Malpractice Insurance?

YES, YES, YES!!!  Nursing Defense Attorneys advise nurses who interact with patients to carry their own malpractice insurance.

The biggest worry is not getting sued in civil court, but rather an investigation by the Board of Nursing.  Malpractice insurance typically covers professional license defense and this is a HUGE reason to pay a little money every year to a nursing malpractice insurance company to ensure that if a complaint is filed against you there is money to hire an experienced defense attorney.

Nurses continue to refuse insurance due to various myths:

1. I am a good nurse and won't get sued/reported to the BON:  Good nurses are reported every single day to the BON or named in a lawsuit.  Good nurses make mistakes and are reported or sued; being good at your job is not an absolute defense.  Good nurses can be the victim of mistaken identity or identity theft.  What about the nurse who had her information stolen and it was used to write fictitious prescriptions.  The board ignored the nurse's denial, samples of her handwriting, and letters from her employer and pharmacist stating the prescriptions were not hers.  The nurse had to pay legal fees, expenses and a private investigator fee out of pocket before the BON would believe she did not write the prescriptions and dismiss the case.  Bad things can happen to Good nurses.  Good nurses get their own malpractice defense policy.

2. My employer has insurance so I do not need my own policy:  I have never seen an employer's insurance used to provide legal defense for a complaint to the BON.  In addition, since most complaints originate from the employer, why would the employer also provide the financial means to defend against their complaint?  If you use your employer's malpractice insurance company the company/attorney's concern is the employer first.  This means any advice given to the nurse must first be a benefit to or not harm the employer.  If a nurse wants a non-biased defense, the nurse needs his/her own malpractice defense policy.

3. Having your own insurance will get you sued:  Plaintiffs find out a nurse has insurance two ways-first the nurse tells them (do not tell anyone you have insurance when an incident/error occurs) OR AFTER the lawsuit is filed interrogatories are filed asking if the nurse has insurance (so the insurance did not cause the lawsuit; they had already decided to sue you before they knew you had insurance).  Get your own malpractice defense policy because doing so will NOT cause you to be sued.


4. It is too expensive:  Not really.  A nurse told me that she obtained a policy and paid premiums for 10 years and the total amount was still less that what hiring an attorney out of pocket would cost her.  There is also a huge peace of mind aspect when you know you have the  money to take your case to the hearing stage and fight the allegations/complaint against you.  Many of the disciplinary actions occur because the nurse was forced to accept what the BON offered in settlement because the nurse could not afford to fight the BON (hearings before an Administrative Law Judge can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 or more depending on the length, number of witnesses and experts, and the complexity of the case; civil cases cost even more).

I received a sad phone call from a nurse who received notice she was named in a lawsuit.  I told her to contact the hospital immediately to see if they would cover her legal defense because they were probably also named in the lawsuit.  The nurse got very upset because the hospital had declared bankruptcy and was closed.  This meant the hospital was no longer in business and she was the only one named in the lawsuit meaning she was responsible out of pocket for her defense, expenses, and ultimately if she lost the case, she would be responsible for the cost of the judgment!!!   Very expensive and it could have been avoided if she had her own malpractice defense policy.

5. I was told in nursing school/at a CNE seminar/by a co-worker/etc. that I should not get insurance because.... Whatever the reason and no matter who is telling you, they are wrong.  The people who defend nurses are in agreement that nurses need to carry their own policy for malpractice/professional license defense.

How to find a policy:  Search for nursing malpractice insurance and talk to the various providers.  Make sure the policy:
* covers professional licensure defense
*allows you to pick your OWN attorney [Some insurance companies have a list of attorneys you must choose from and these attorneys may not have experience with the BON or not enough experience]
*has a cap per incident of at least/a minimum of $25,000 [this usually provides enough money for a BON investigation and a normal hearing; there are some policies that have a cap of $5,000-$10,000 per incident and that is not enough to cover the investigation and possible hearing]

Malpractice Insurance - Get It NOW!!

I know I have commented on this so many times, but there are still too many nurses still not get insurance on their careers. Please take the time to protect your livelihood. It is not that expensive and the benefits FAR outweigh the few problems.
Remember that the main reason to get malpractice insurance is to provide legal representation and expense reimbursement in case a complaint is filed with the Board of Nursing (it is appears much more likely that a nurse will be reported than ever before).

Another reason to buy malpractice insurance

A nurse was recently sued by a patient's family (all the doctors and nurses involved were named in the lawsuit). Typically the hospital will provide legal defense for the nurses (but not always, be sure to read my other posts on malpractice insurance). In this case, the hospital had gone bankrupt and was no longer in business, which means---NO Paid Legal Defense for the nurses.

There are so many scary traps out there for the uninsured and here is another one to add to the list. This economy is tough and so you can expect more legal actions taking place and ALL health care practitioners should insure their licenses and their careers. Malpractice insurance is for more that defense in a lawsuit, it can also pay for your legal defense for a complaint with the Board of Nurses. Defense Attorneys recommend malpractice insurance in order to protect your interests and shouldn't you listen to those people who work to help you out.

In case you are wondering, I have no financial relationship with malpractice insurance carriers; I just see the financial problems caused by nurses having to defend themselves out of their own pocket and I hope to prevent the same problems for others.

Buy Malpractice Insurance Now!

All nurses that provide patient care should have a malpractice insurance policy. It is not enough that your employer covers you under their policy, every nurse should have their own policy. I think with the financial situation, it is even more important to protect one's career and how horrible to have to go without legal representation or reimbursement for expenses because of financial constraints.

You most likely have health insurance, car insurance and home insurance. Isn't your job worth protecting? Isn't your career more important than your car? You may never get sued, but the number of nurses being reported to the BON is increasing. Insure yourself and be protected.

Nursing Malpractice Insurance

I have actually had several clients lately that have insurance and I am hoping that this is a new trend. Having financial resources available to fund your defense before the Board of Nursing is so helpful, not only does it take some stress off, but it also gives the nurse the resources to fight the BON if the nurse does not agree with the Board's punishment. So go read some of my older posts on insurance and don't delay, get insured today.

Protect Yourself Now

Malpractice Insurance Will Get You Sued

But My Employer Has Insurance

My Employer Will Pay for My Legal Representation

Suing Nurses