Medical Malpractice Insurance for Nurses
Medical malpractice insurance provides for nurses with professional liability coverage to protect themselves from lawsuits and actions taken by the Board of Nurses. Even the most skilled and experienced nurse can become embroiled in a lawsuit. Medical malpractice insurance provides peace of mind and financial protection.
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Benefits
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Medical malpractice insurance provides nurses with economic safeguards for their career. In cases where the employers provide coverage, nurses may still want to obtain their own policy to ensure they have sufficient protection. In addition, nurses may can purchase policies that provide for loss wages, licensing board-hearing reimbursements, attorney fees, and legal costs.The policy can also provide protection when volunteering or working part-time nursing assignments.
Function
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Medical malpractice occurs when a nurse fails to deliver a “reasonable standard of care” expected of other nursing professionals operating under similar circumstances. Nurses have a wide range of responsibilities, and failure to perform properly in any of them can lead to a charge of malpractice. Examples include failing to properly monitor patients’ vital signs and making errors in procedures, medication or other documentation.
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Considerations
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When purchasing malpractice insurance, nurses should conduct due diligence on the insurance company before making a final decision. Check the financial strength of the company as well as its experience. Understand the provisions concerning the coverage limits, number of claims per year and the amounts paid for medical claims. According to the Nurse Together website, the best medical malpractice insurance policy gives the insured the option of choosing her own insurance. In addition, the best policies do not limit the hourly rate of legal counsel.
Misconceptions
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Nurse Together identifies one of the biggest myths about medical malpractice insurance: Having medical malpractice coverage increases the risk of incurring a lawsuit. The website maintains that most plaintiffs will not know if a nurse has personal liability insurance. Furthermore, whether a nurse has malpractice insurance has no bearing on whether a lawsuit names him as a defendant in a lawsuit. Usually, a nurse’s insurance coverage information comes out after the plaintiff files a suit and the discovery process is under way.
Expert Insight
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The trial law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP states that nurses may encounter situations where the doctor’s orders conflict with the hospital official policy. Sometimes, the instructions may not adhere to conventional medical standards, policies or regulations. The firm encourages nurses to question, put off or even disobey such orders. Nurses have a responsibility to advocate for their patients by using an organizational chain of command when they believe doctors instructions may not represent the best needs of the patients or do not make the appropriate decision related to patients’ care. The law firm emphasizes that nurses should pursue the following chain of order: charge nurse, nurse manager or administrative supervisor, chief of department, chief of staff and director of the hospital.
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References
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