By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
To protect yourself from automobile accidents, you carry auto liability insurance. To protect your home from fire, storms and other accidents, you carry homeowners’ insurance. However, I have noticed many nurses fail to carry any insurance to protect one of their most precious assets, their nursing licenses. Yet such insurance is cheap and easy to obtain. I cannot stress enough how important it is for a nurse to carry a personal professional liability insurance policy that covers any investigation, complaint or administrative hearing that might be filed or opened against a nurse’s license.
In my experience, I’ve heard every excuse as to why a nurse does not have a personal professional liability insurance policy. In this blog series, I am exploring those excuses. I want every nurse to understand the importance of buying personal professional liability insurance now, before it is too late.
Keep in mind that a great deal more nursing license complaints are filed against nurses than there are liability lawsuits.
Excuse: I Am a Good Nurse, I Don’t Need Professional Liability Insurance.
You may be a good nurse, but good nurses are the subject of lawsuits and complaints. All it takes is just one violation that gets reported to the DOH or BON, and the nurse is suddenly in a position of having his or her license investigated. The nurse then has to defend his or her actions to protect the integrity of his or her license, and possibly the ability to continue practicing.
The harsh reality is that legal representation is very expensive. Without insurance, even if the nurse is found to be not negligent, the nurse is still responsible for the attorney’s fees and expenses incurred during trial. However, professional liability insurance will protect the nurse in the event of a lawsuit, and it may also pay legal defenses in the event of a complaint against the nurse’s license to practice or for other legal problems.
Excuse: I am Covered By My Employer’s Insurance.
We hear this on a weekly basis. Many nurses mistakenly believe that their employer insures them for legal fees and costs associated with defending against licensure complaints, Emergency Suspension Orders (ESOs), Notices of Investigation, and Administrative Complaints. In the overwhelming majority of cases, this is false. Often it is the employer that files the complaint against the nurse that causes the investigation. If you are told your employer will cover you in such circumstances, ask for a letter in writing and signed by the employer stating that the employer will pay for your defense in any DOH or BON investigation or subsequent administrative proceedings that arise out of your employment. It is unlikely that you will get it.
When a nurse is “covered” under a hospital’s (you can substitute nursing home, clinic, etc., as applicable here) policy, that policy primarily protects the hospital’s interests. Therefore, this “coverage” extends only to those situations and occurrences where the hospital might have liability.
Check This Blog for More.
I will continue to explore excuses I hear from nurses as to why they do not have a personal professional liability insurance policy in later blogs.
It is my hope that after reading this you will look into purchasing your own professional liability insurance policy.
Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Representing Nurses.
The Health Law Firm’s attorneys routinely represent nurses in Department of Health (DOH) investigations, in appearances before the Board of Nursing (BON) in licensing matters and in many other legal matters. We represent nurses across the U.S., and throughout Florida.
To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.
Comments?
Do you have personal professional liability coverage? Are you thinking about getting a personal policy now? Please leave any thoughtful comments below.
About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.
“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A. – The Health Law Firm, a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
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