Massachusetts Nurse :: November/December 2005

The two-question quiz every RN needs to take
Your license might depend on it

By Dorothy McCabe, RN, MS, M.Ed
MNA’s Director of Nursing

Question 1: Do you have your own individual professional liability insurance?
Yes   No

Question 2: Do you really need individual professional liability insurance?
Yes   No

If you answered yes to the first question, congratulations are in order. You’re on the right path to protecting yourself, your livelihood and your license.

If you answered no to either of these questions, the remainder of this article should be mandatory reading.

Mandatory reading: why now?

Over the past month—that’s a mere 30 days—five MNA members were reported to the Board of Nursing for an adverse medical event. That may not be enough reports in a short enough amount of time to label the occurrences a trend, but it was enough to get the attention of the MNA.

As a result, it was decided that a crash-course in individual, professional liability insurance would go a long way for MNA members.

You’re reported: now what?

In responding to a nurse who has had a complaint against her license, the first question the MNA will ask is “Do you have malpractice insurance?” Depending on the answer, the next statement won’t be specific to the details of the incident, but rather, “You need to obtain legal counsel now.” Here’s why:

1. Legal counsel will assist you in preparing the documents that are requested by the Board of Nursing.

2. Legal counsel will help you negotiate the steps that will be taken by the Board of Nursing following the complaint.

3. Legal counsel will represent you during the hearing before the Board of Nursing when it reviews the complaint and recommends action.

Getting back to the five nurses mentioned earlier, here’s a scary fact: only one nurse out of the five had her own professional liability insurance. That means that four of your fellow MNA members will go into their meetings with the Board of Nursing without the services described above.

Would you want to be one of those four nurses?

Liability insurance explained

In addition to coverage for professional liability if you are the defendant, a typical liability policy would provide the following coverage:

1. Up to $10,000 per proceeding for your defense of disciplinary charges arising out of a covered license protection incident are covered.

2. Up to $2,500 per deposition is covered.

3. Up to $10,000 for defendant expense reimbursement.

4. Up to $1,000,000 for personal liability per case; $6,000,000 aggregate.

5. Up to $25,000 protection if you are assaulted at work or while commuting to and from work.

No one wants to believe that they could be involved in a lawsuit involving an adverse medical event. But even the best nurses make mistakes—we’re human after all.

For more information please read this related article and think about protecting yourself in your practice of caring for patients.