[medi]

I absolutely believe in nurses carrying personal liability insurance regardless of their area of practice. As Andrew and some others have already mentioned the cost per year is so tiny that its completely insignificant for starters, but the peace of mind it buys is priceless.

We live in a litigation happy day & age and it would be negligent thinking to "assume" that a nurse won't be included in a suit brought against a health care facility or along with doctors "because everyone knows nurses don't have as much net worth" as those with "deep pockets". That's nuts in these days when nurses are well educated and have the potential in many cases of earning in excess of $100k per year and more if they do agency work as well.

In addition to being sued under the doctrine of respondeat superior in which case your employer's umbrella policy would be the first line of defence, a nurse can also be sued personally in addition!

In the first instance I would not trust the employer to fight hard to defend my innocence and good name, but rather I would expect that if they had ANY thought that the plaintiff might have a vaiable claim they would offer to settle to save costs- which would make me seem to look guilty!

That brings us to the second instance-- if my employer settled and I looked guilty I could kiss my assets goodbye in a civil case brought against me individually unless I have my own liability insurance.

Whoever told any of you that a plaintiff could not touch your house or car? That's wrong---- they can slap a lien against the house and get your equity as soon as you ever try to sell it, and they can attach every other asset or wage you or your spouse have or earn until the judgment is satisfied.

You could spend the rest of your working days working --- for nothing.

All because you wanted to save $100 a year or less?

I don't know about you, but the median house value in the US is approximately $230,000 at this time, and most of us probably have some retirement plan or savings in addition to other assets.

Is the price of insurance so high that you would be willing to avoid paying it and put everything at risk instead? For well educated people-- that's just not very smart is it?

For more on Nursing Legal Issues, including Good Samaritan Statues, and The Nurse's Malpractice Primer please visit the Nursing Law section of Medi-Smart
http://medi-smart.com/law.htm

[mattsmom]

This is a personal decision for nurses to make. Many nurses feel it is peace of mind in today's hectic environment of care; inevitable mistakes will be made and they want the harmed patient to be compensated.

I have struggled with these sentiments myself, but have decided not to carry it; only because I know that the more of us carry it, the more lawyers will sue us for it. I've never been involved in a lawsuit in my 29 yrs in this game, and am diligent in involving the 'higherups' in any problem that occurs so the facility cannot easily blame me alone. I'm also very careful to follow policy...because this is how facilities can single out a nurse for blame in a suit.

Every nurse has to hash out his/her feelings on this issue and like I said, its a personal decision.

[Ricu]

I've had malpractice insurance ever since I went into nursing because I was advised to take it. You all have posted sound arguments here both for and against so I've actually considered letting it go. Maybe I'm paraniod, but I've decided that regardless or the fact that I consider myself a conscientious nurse, I practice in a career that is susceptable to lawsuits- thanks, Jim Sokolove and for as long as I continue to do so, I feel better protected while having it.

R

[faviola]

I've dont really see the need for a malpractice ins.. all the hospitals i work for cover all costs.