If you are a professional, that means that you have received specialized training for the services that you provide. As a result, customers and clients expect to receive highly competent output and product of your work. With this in mind, it is logical to think that an architect can give building design without structural flaws; a lawyer can provide accurate legal advice; a teacher can give exact lessons to what a student needs. If performance is even below the average standard, sometimes a customer can file lawsuits against you. To protect yourself from this, there is a need to acquire a malpractice insurance policy.
In order to avoid errors in practice, doctors in all sorts of specialization have been studying their profession for a long time and are still armed with continuous education and experience. This is an essential requirement for clinicians because of the nature of their work; it is an accepted notion that they should be performing their task with utmost diligence. With this in mind, life is at the palm of their hands and should be handled with care. This is the reason why it takes tedious effort to get a medical degree in becoming a doctor. High expertise, finesse, and accurate medical actions sum up the totality of their professional career.
However, in recent years, most of the malpractice claims are against healthcare providers. Hazardous events that are unexpected in the doctor’s line of profession are the following: failure to give reasonable care for the patient, inaccurate medical work, negligence in medical practice, erroneous treatment on patients and other issues of malpractice that may cause fatal injuries to the patients. It can be safely assumed that doctors do not intend to commit mistakes in facilitating patient care. Nevertheless, if a patient is injured because of the actions of a medical practitioner, it is highly possible that patients will sue and raise concerns to the court. If malpractice is proven, it will hit a fatal blow to a doctor’s reputation and will ultimately bring financial ruin.
Malpractice complaints are not only exclusive to doctors. In most cases, even hospitals are bombarded with lawsuits if it houses doctors that incurred medical malpractice. Hospitals and medications can’t escape liability in the event of malpractice. This is because hospitals, like doctors themselves, are also expected to give patients the highest form of care. While hospitals can also hire quality doctors and give extensive monitoring of their services, blunders and mistakes can always happen at a time unexpected. Thus for hospitals and doctors, securing themselves with an insurance is recommended.
Top Five Medical Practitioners that have High Rates of Malpractice
There are numerous kinds of specialties in the medical profession, and all require extensive knowledge in the field. However, it is still possible to commit mistakes in conducting medical care. In the Philippines, cases of medical malpractice are slowly becoming a trend. This is due to the increasing number of patients filing complaints from general practitioners to neurosurgeons. Here are the top 5 medical professions that have high rates of Malpractice:
- Plastic surgeons
- Orthopedic Surgeons
- General surgeons
- Cardiothoracic Surgeons
- Neurosurgeons
In line with this, medical practitioners can’t always rely on their knowledge and experience. It is best to protect themselves against lawsuits by getting a malpractice insurance policy.
Malpractice Insurance Coverage
Malpractice insurance is generally known by many names such as the following: Professional Liability Insurance, Physician Professional Liability Insurance, and Healthcare Liability Insurance. Here the following coverage of malpractice insurance Policy:
Inclusion:
- Civil Liability Claims
- Legal Representation Cost
- Vicarious Liability
- Unintended Intellectual Infringement
- Fraud and Dishonesty
- Libel and Slander
- Unintentional Cyber and Privacy Infringement
- Public Liability
- Directors and Officers Liability
- Defence costs and expenses
- Out-of-court settlements
- Breach of fiduciary duty or breach of warranty or authority
- Employee Actions
- Loss of Documents
- Unlawful Default
- Breach of Trust
- Death or bodily injury unless arising out of advice
- Omission to perform a professional duty
- liability on manufacture, construction or installation and delayed supply on materials or equipment
Exclusion:
- Property Damage
- Natural Disaster Events
- Liability to any Debt Incurred
- Product Liability
(the exclusions can always be included if you are going to purchase standalone insurances or packaged deal insurances)
In a nutshell, there is a possibility that services can take a wrong turn and may destroy not just your reputation as a professional but also your company. Many businessmen will only focus on the stream of profit without thinking of future problems. Many doctors and medical practitioners rely on their extensive knowledge and years of experience without thinking of the possibility of unintentionally committing mistakes. Honestly, some events are just out of our control. And the best way to protect yourself from it is by getting insured.
