Generally, medical practitioners are encouraged to purchase malpractice insurance to protect them against liability in case a client decides to sue them for malpractice. Medical professionals while carrying out their professional tasks may have incurred an error, deviation from standards of care, gross negligence, or wrongdoing whether intentional or spontaneous. And they may be sued for such.
For example, if a patient has been injured or harmed by a nurse, surgeon, or dentist intentionally or negligently, the patient may sue the medical professional. When this happens, the medical professional may not use his or her personal money to pay the victim or the plaintiff for the damage incurred. The insurance he or she bought previously may cover for the compensation.
Getting insurance policy for malpractice allows the medical practitioner to manage the risks involved in his or her profession. Malpractice insurance provides financial protection from lawsuits and covers the medical practitioner at fault up to several million dollars depending on the coverage of the policy bought. Of course, higher premiums mean higher coverage.
The rates of premium in malpractice policy depend on a few factors. It may consider the kind of premium chosen-higher coverage definitely requires higher amount of premium. It also considers the nature of medical profession. At times, some insurance companies evaluate the experience of the medical practitioner and base the premium rates from that criterion as well.
A medical professional who has many years of experience practicing such profession is thought to have least risks and chances of committing negligence and deviation from standards of care. Thus, it may be that the premiums he or she must pay are lower compared to those given to younger medical professional of the same specialization.
Younger or newly inducted medical practitioners are conceived to have higher inclination of committing malpractice as they do not have hands-on experience.
An example of this is the varied rates given for surgeons who have naturally higher premiums. A different set of rates is given to dentists, ophthalmologists, anesthesiologists, and psychiatrists. Although nurses have lower premiums, the premiums are still very high and based on the types of medicines they involve themselves.
Nevertheless, it is important to understand that the amount of coverage also varies according to the law stipulated in a certain state. Different states in North America adopt different laws. And this goes out to other countries as well.
In rare cases, employers may shoulder the medical malpractice insurance for their employees. However in most cases, the practitioners themselves should purchase the insurance policy.
Also known as personal liability insurance, almost everyone in the medical industry is required to have this kind of insurance policy before being employed by a facility or before opening one's own private practice clinic.
Today, medical malpractice is widely prevalent. Aesthetic doctors like dermatologists or the ones that perform surgery to enhance physical appearance are at higher risks for committing medical negligence. It would be to their advantage to have a policy to cover them financially in case they are being sued against.
Besides the medical industry, other areas may also purchase malpractice insurance. This includes lawyers, accountants, architects, and engineers.
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