‘Health is wealth,’ goes the old adage. However, it isn’t always possible to avoid health issues. If you do have to walk into a clinic or hospital, you become the responsibility of health care professionals: from getting a check-up, diagnosing an illness, prescribing medicines, undergoing procedures, and preserving one’s health.
Patients expect cordial treatment from all the members of the medical team. After all, medical health professionals took an oath to help cure the sick to the best of their ability. Physicians, nurses, medical technologists, pharmacists, and physical therapists devote hundreds of hours of clinical practice to ensure accuracy and precision in treating the ill.
Now imagine getting sued for medical malpractice. This tribulation could ramify into hefty consequences when proven in court. Therefore, having medical malpractice insurance is a sine qua non of any health care provider. It can provide the necessary protection when medical professionals encounter lawsuits filed against them.
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What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a type of claim available to victims when they experience harm due to the negligence of a medical practitioner. It transpires when there is a dereliction of duty in executing appropriate treatment or wrongfully providing precise medication that leads to injury, harm, worsened condition, or death to a patient.
There are about 15,000 to 19,000 medical malpractice suits against medical professionals each year, according to the Medical Malpractice Center. This towering figure reveals the alarming state of the healthcare industry.
Laws and standards of regulations differ between regions and countries. Medical malpractice may not always result in revoking a medical practitioner’s license. Instead, it may lead to suspension, sanctions, and penalties to compensate the patient’s injury.
Doctors are the leading most-sued medical practitioners. According to the Times-Picayune, 1,000 doctors were found guilty of malpractice in a period of ten years, with 27 doctors having their licenses revoked. Nowadays, hospitals such as the Stanford University Hospital are conducting programs to deal with medical errors.
How Does Medical Malpractice Insurance Works?
Medical malpractice insurance is either occurrence or claims-made. These policies differ on costs and coverage. An occurrence policy is a lifetime insurance that covers the incidents regardless of when the claim was filed. In comparison, the claims-made policy covers the incident only when it is in effect.
The insurance covers health care professionals for substandard treatment, failure to execute appropriate treatment, allegations against wrong medication given, misdiagnosis, surgical errors, injuries that worsen patient condition, and other misconduct claims.
As a medical professional in service, you must be aware of medical malpractice insurance from the start of your career. One should get recommendations from fellow practitioners and ensure that the policy you get will guarantee utmost protection for you and your profession.
Moreover, here are the three lesser-known benefits of having medical practice insurance:
1. Patient Assurance
It may not be the first benefit that comes to people’s minds, but having medical malpractice insurance will provide assurance and comfort to patients. In today’s information era, everything is readily available to public knowledge. So, when patients learn that you have medical malpractice insurance, they’ll consider it a sign of responsibility and accountability for patients in need.
Insurance provides both medical professional and patient financial protection. Compensations may vary depending on the severity and extent of injury or harm caused by the misconduct. In unfortunate events such as lifetime disability or death, the surviving members of the family may be entitled to sue for both economic and non-economic damages.
2. Lawsuit Funding
Medical malpractice is one of the most expensive lawsuits in the world. A medical practitioner sued for misconduct will be temporarily out of duty due to allegations filed against them. There will also be a loss of their source of income and incapability to fund one’s legal defense team.
The defense cost during the lawsuit may or may not be included in the insurance policy. A medical professional should constantly scrutinize the overall coverage of the policy before availing of it. These expenses comprise defense attorney’s fees, clerical expenses, arbitration costs, fees for hired experts, punitive and compensatory damages, and medical damages.
While hiring an experienced injury lawyer is an edge, the insurance will also grant award settlements. Win or lose, a medical practitioner will be able to recover from the expenses paid during their period of unemployment and court time.
3. Personal Financial Protection
Several states require medical malpractice insurance despite not being a federal law. An employer’s insurance may not have enough coverage; hence, personal insurance is highly encouraged. Insurance costs may also vary by profession and specialty.
According to the American Medical Association, 5% of doctors are sued yearly. The longer the doctor’s career, the higher the chances that they’ll be sued at some point. Owning personal insurance will also include added comfort for financial protection.
Taking All These Into Consideration
Medical lawsuits happen all the time. Even experienced and highly skilled medical professionals may face medical misconduct allegations. Regardless if they’re true or not, health care providers must ensure themselves with medical malpractice insurance. Otherwise, their time off from work and the overall expenses will drain out wallet their wallet. However, with insurance, win or lose, they’re bound to recover.
