Nursing Liability Insurance: Protect Yourself

Experts recommended that nurses purchase nursing liability insurance, which is essentially malpractice insurance, to protect themselves and their assets. Although some hospitals and health care facilities provide liability insurance to nurses, many individuals choose to purchase their own insurance as well. For situations where insurance is not provided, buying your own is essential.

The biggest advantage to having your own RN continuing education is that you are covered 24/7 in case something happens after your working hours or outside of the hospital or facility that you work in. Some nurses have tried to help accident victims or other people in trouble only to find themselves being sued later on. Most nurses can't turn their backs on people who need help, and personal insurance will protect you and your family if someone decides to sue you.

As soon as you as a nurse give someone medical advice or help them, you have established a legal nurse-patient relationship, even if you are doing so after hours or outside of the hospital. For this reason, you should never rely on the insurance provided by your employer alone. While it will cover you at work, it won't in any other situation even when your help would save a life.

Having your own insurance will help protect you. Insurance offered by an employer is generally limited and can be very inadequate if it is covering multiple parties in a lawsuit. With your own insurance, you'll have your own lawyer who will protect your interests in the case.

With increasing nursing shortages and downsizing, nurses can be placed in less than ideal situations within hospitals and health care centers. Although you do the best you can, problems can arise or mistakes made. Often nurses have too many patients and may have increased responsibilities that go beyond their experience.

Any lawsuit that you may be named in can result in huge legal fees and many hours of lost work time. Nursing liability insurance will provide you with a lawyer for any lawsuits that arise, which is not always the case for employer insurance. The insurance will also pay you from lost wages if you have to attend a trial, deposition, or arbitration hearing.

Having nursing liability insurance makes good sense for nurses. You'll protect yourself any time you give medical advice or help. When you help others who need it, you have the assurance that the insurance company will stand behind you.