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Professional Liability Insurance for Nurses: Why EVERY Nurse Must Have It

Do nurses need malpractice insurance?

Introduction

Professional liability insurance is the main reason a nurse should get it. This kind of insurance usually pays for the legal defense of a nurse who is being licensed or disciplined. Despite the fact that most nursing liability insurance policies already include this coverage, some guidelines may not. Depending on which insurance company you use, you may be able to buy this extra coverage for a small fee.

License defense insurance pays for the legal fees and costs of protecting a nurse being investigated, which could lead to her losing her license to practice medicine or being disciplined by the nurse. Insurance usually starts when the nurse gets written notice from a state agency that they’re being investigated. Also, it will cover official complaints against the nurse, unofficial hearings by the Nurses Association, and formal management hearings by an administrative law judge.

Besides liability insurance, what else does a nurse need?

According to the National Standards Organization, liability insurance helps protect you from claims that you made mistakes while doing your job as a nurse. The most important word here is “claims” because, in reality, it only takes a small mistake to make someone say something wrong about you. Patients can sue you even if you have done nothing wrong, and you will have to defend yourself in court.

If you are named in a complaint, even if you aren’t found guilty, you may have to pay legal fees, which can be very expensive. Even though nurses work for hospitals and other providers, these companies may not always pay for nurse practitioners and nurses. Employers, such as hospitals, may also sue a nurse for careless getting back some of their money. In addition, if an employer goes bankrupt, a nurse may not be covered.

There is malpractice insurance for nurses in all of the situations above as well as more. In the event of a lawsuit, this kind of insurance helps pay for any judgment or settlement and legal defense costs up to a certain amount. In addition, nurses can choose insurance policies that offer protection in the event that a nurse is taken to court by a board or other regulatory body.

Types of claims

A nurse can make two types of claims when they have medical malpractice insurance.

Policies come in two different ways.

Made assertions: 

If a claim is made during the policy period, this kind of insurance will cover things that happen during that time. That means that if you had claims-made insurance in 2019 and a claim was made against you that year, you are almost sure to be covered. However, if you make a claim in 2020, you won’t be protected by the law.

When coverage is incidental

Coverage is only for things that happen during the insurance period, no matter when the claim is filed. If an accident occurred in 2019 while your policy covered you, but you didn’t make a claim until the following year, your policy would still protect you.

What Medical Malpractice Insurance Claims Can Nurses Make?

A lot of people have heard of the Hippocratic Oath. Here, the highest ethical standards for a doctor are explained. Oaths are based on the idea that you should not harm. It’s important always to put the needs of your patients first when you work with them. Even the best nurses make mistakes, and even the best of them have them. A patient’s physiological, intellectual, and economic well-being could be in danger even if the doctor makes a small mistake. In this case, you might need to make a claim on your malpractice insurance.

People who have malpractice insurance might help if they get hurt more than once. A nurse could make a claim based on any medical mistake, from a misstep in a procedure to a mishandled set of test results. The policyholder may get something out of insurance:

  1. The costs of hiring a lawyer
  2. Agreements
  3. Damages for punitive or medical costs

Insurance policies often cover both fundamental and claimed negligence. But they can’t protect all the outposts. Most insurance policies don’t cover illegal things, like sexual misbehavior. Other policy-based exceptions may also apply. To make sure they are safe, nurses should look for insurance that meets their needs. There may be a lot of digging to figure out how much protection this is, though.

For what, a nurse can be sued?

According to the Nursing’s American Journal, four main factors lead to claims of nursing carelessness.

  1. Non-compliance with well-known norms of care
  2. Using medical equipment improperly or irresponsibly is also a risk.
  3. When a doctor doesn’t check and monitor a patient’s health,
  4. When a doctor doesn’t scan and monitor a patient’s health,

The problem is that working conditions aren’t always ideal. Out of the blue, things may affect how well you do your job.

Some of them might be the following:

  • Staffing changes
  • Documentation
  • Patient percentages
  • Supplementary help

These things could happen at any time during a shift and make it hard for you to give the level of care you were trained to provide. Burnout and nurses leaving the profession and the bedside are caused by many things. Obviously, we’d like them not to be a problem, but we’d have to live with our heads in the sand to think that everything is under our control.

Final Thought

You can do a quick search on the internet to find many insurance companies that cover nurses. Because each policy has a different definition of what is covered, you need to determine if that definition covers your practice.

You and the insurance company have a legally binding agreement when you sign an insurance policy. You need to know this. Check to see if any of the things you talked about in your original talk have been fixed.

About Rachel

Hi my name is Rachel; a registered nurse. I graduated from one of the best nursing programmes and have been working in the medical field for 10 years. As a licensed practical nurse, I understand the plight that comes with the job. While I enjoy taking care of patients, I understand the long working hours that nurses have to deal with. We spend majority of the shifts walking around the medical centre making sure all patients are taken care of and this requires a lot of work and energy on the feet. https://bestnursingshoes.net has been created to help nurses from different parts of the world find the perfect shoes to reduce the strain on your feet and posture and make the job much easier.

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