Malpractice Insurance

What is Malpractice Insurance?

Designed for the healthcare service providers and professionals, the Malpractice insurance policy offers coverage to the healthcare specialists from accusations of medical negligence. The insurance protects the physician from the patients that file a complaint against the healthcare providers for harming them intentionally. The plan also provides coverage for patients’ deaths. Almost all medical specialists need malpractice insurance. According to the research, medical negligence has listed as the third-most-common cause of increasing patients’ deaths in the United States.

Medical negligence is not uncommon. A lot of people suffering from heart issues and serious diseases, such as cancer die because of medical negligence. If research is to be believed, then more than 250,000 deaths are reported in the US due to inaccurate medical treatment. This can happen during the treatment, ad a recommendation after the treatment, and during the recovery process. Even the slightest error in the medical reports and advice could lead to complications in the patient’s medical condition. Studies suggest that more than 17,000 patients file a complaint against healthcare providers in the US every year.

Who Needs Malpractice Insurance?

A medical professional could experience a lawsuit for medical negligence and inaccurate treatments once every 6-7 years. With that being said, it is extremely important for the healthcare service provider to get malpractice insurance. In the United States, each physician and practitioner need malpractice insurance to work in a healthcare company or hospital. Note that this insurance premium depends mainly on the experience and specialty of the physician rather than the claims.

Chances are: a physician might end up paying a hefty premium fee every year and will never get sued once in their medical career. Usually, the fee is quite high. It can vary depending on the area of operation, medical severity, state laws, frequency of the medical claims, and so on.

Malpractice Insurance Coverage

Medical malpractice insurance covers a Range of expenses associated with defending and settling malpractice suits; it also pays damages if you’re found liable.

• Medical damages
• Attorneys’ fees and court costs
• Arbitration costs
• Settlement costs
• Punitive and compensatory damages

Medical malpractice does not cover liability that arises from criminal acts, sexual misconduct, and inappropriate alteration of medical records.

Common Types of Malpractice Insurance Policies

You could purchase the malpractice insurance either individually or have it under the Insurance Coverage plan offered by the hospital or medical Facility you work at. Professionals who are working at the government hospitals and health centers do not need to obtain malpractice insurance. Basically, the insurance premium for healthcare providers is available in two types – occurrence policy and claims-made policy. The latter provides coverage only if the insurance policy was in effect during the treatment and when the professional was sued for medical negligence.

The occurrence policy, on the other hand, offers coverage to medical professionals given that the insurance policy was in effect during the treatment. Even if gets expired when the lawsuit is filed against the healthcare service provider, it can be claimed. The patient filing the claim has to prove that the professional has breached the medical codes. They also need to submit the evidence that proves that the issue occurred due to medical negligence only. It is only applicable if the patient experienced a physical or emotional injury because of medical negligence.