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A common reason for a malpractice lawsuit against a medical practice is unethical conduct from the clinic or a staff member. Below, we explain some of the most significant ethical breaches that can occur in medical practice.

Confidentiality Breach

Confidentiality is a significant concern for patients, so any breach of that confidentiality by a doctor or clinic is a serious form of unethical conduct. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) strictly prohibits the disclosure of sensitive health information without the patient’s consent.

Disclosing sensitive health information can sometimes occur accidentally, but it’s still a significant ethics violation that could expose the doctor and clinic legally.

Discrimination

Discriminatory behavior is obviously a major unethical conduct in medical practice—whether it’s discrimination of a patient’s gender, race, sexual orientation, or other protected category. Discrimination in health care can come in many forms, from doctors selectively choosing the patients they want to treat to being dismissive about specific gender issues.

Discriminatory conduct can also come in the form of verbal abuse if a doctor or clinic staff is inappropriate or abusive to a patient based on race, gender, or other criteria. This conduct is why diversity training and seminars can be valuable resources for clinics to avoid malpractice and discrimination lawsuits.

Covering Up a Mistake

Sometimes in medical practice, it’s not the mistake but the actions of the doctor and clinic afterward that are unethical. We’re all human, and we make mistakes. Still, if a doctor/clinic is deceitful about that mistake and withholds information from the patient regarding their medical condition, that’s a severe ethical and legal breach.

Patients have a legal and ethical right to information about their medical conditions—mistakes and all. If a patient later learns that a previous doctor/clinic made a mistake in their treatment and covered it up, they would have a strong case for malpractice and violation of informed consent.

Deceptive Billing Practices

An, unfortunately, all too common ethical breach in the health-care industry has little to do with doctors and patients and revolves around billing practices. The insurance billing system is complex and difficult for many to understand, which makes it a rife opportunity for shady medical billing professionals and clinics to dupe patients and insurance providers.

There are many examples and types of shady billing practices in health care, including:

• Upcoding (overbilling)
• Duplicate charges
• Phantom charges (billed for services never rendered)
• Unbundling (separation of charges that the insurance company should bill together)
• Incorrect quantities (inflating total items/medications received by the patient)

Any of these billing practices are an ethical breach for a clinic and could lead to legal action from the patient and the insurance provider.

Conclusion

There are clearly many opportunities for a clinic to face legal action due to unethical conduct, which is why group malpractice insurance is essential for any medical clinic. If you have questions about unethical conduct or malpractice insurance, contact our expert team at Baxter & Associates.

Insurance agents help professionals and ordinary people get the insurance coverage they need. You might wonder if professional insurance agents need malpractice coverage themselves. They do, and we’ll explain policies every insurance agent needs, like errors and omissions coverage.

Yes, Insurance Agents Need Liability Coverage

Every professional insurance agent should have liability policies to protect themselves and their business. Professional liability insurance is especially important. An insurance agent who runs their own business will need basic business coverage, like a business owner’s policy, worker’s compensation, and cyber liability insurance.

Insurance agents offer advice and counsel to clients, but that counsel doesn’t always work out. When this happens, the client may seek retribution against the agent. Every insurance agent needs malpractice coverage for protection in these cases, primarily errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.

Errors & Omissions Insurance

E&O insurance is a specialized policy to protect the insured against the legal cost of errors not traditionally covered by standard liability insurance. Insurance agents are people, too, and can make mistakes in the counsel or recommendations of their clients. Errors that E&O covers include the following:

• Giving the wrong advice accidentally
• Missing a deadline
• Failing to recommend coverage
• Not explaining policy provisions
• Errors made by the agent, team, or subcontractor
• Inadequate work

If a client feels that any of these errors by their insurance agent cost them a substantial sum or payout from the insurance provider, they may file a malpractice claim to force the agent to make up the difference.

What Errors & Omissions Insurance Covers

If the claim falls under one of the protected acts in E&O insurance, the policy will cover most of the costs of defending the agent in court. That includes attorney fees, court costs, and unfavorable judgments or settlements up to the policy’s limits.

Judgments and settlements regarding liability and malpractice can reach hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, depending on the situation. Without liability insurance, the agent could be left on the hook for that payment themselves.

Conclusion

Now you understand why insurance agents need malpractice coverage and some policies the average agent needs. Baxter & Associates is a trusted malpractice insurance agency that connects professionals with suitable providers and can offer a liability policy. Learn more on our website or contact our staff to get started on a policy today.

Illegible, poorly written, and incomplete medical documentation is an all-too-common problem in healthcare. Below, we discuss ways healthcare professionals and clinics can prevent poor medical documentation and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Avoid Copying & Pasting

One of the most common culprits for mistakes in medical documentation is the dreaded copy-and-paste function for the electronic health record (EHR). Anyone who has used a computer is familiar with its function and its convenience, especially when transferring large amounts of data from one document to another.

However, the copy-and-paste function is a breeding ground for mistakes, as you can easily repeat errors onto multiple documents, making it harder to track an illness’s progression. Repeated copy-and-pasting can also add more pages to documentation than needed, which makes them harder to read and understand.

Use Abbreviations & Symbols Sparingly

Another way to prevent poor medical documentation is to use as few abbreviations and symbols as possible. Medical documentation is often rife with shorthand, abbreviations, and symbols—which can be convenient. However, it can also lead to confusion and assumptions.

While most medical professionals within the same department may see and understand what these abbreviations mean, it’s easy for others to get confused and assume it means something else, which can cause many issues.

Write as Clearly as Possible

It’s the simplest and most obvious advice, but it’s still worth mentioning: always be as clear as possible in your medical documentation. Clear writing applies to the legibility of one’s handwriting and the documentation’s content.

Clarity and precision are critical aspects of medical documentation, but many overlook them for more time-saving writing methods. After filling out your documentation, ask yourself if the paperwork is clear, concise, complete, and legible.

Document Future Plans

One aspect of medical documentation many healthcare professionals overlook is who may be reading their notes and documentation in the future. If a facility must transfer their patient to another facility, the professionals the patient comes in contact with, such as specialists and social workers, may need to consult the documentation to appropriately coordinate their care.

It’s helpful for all involved if healthcare professionals include the patient’s care plans in their documentation. For example, note the date of a follow-up appointment and provide a rough timeline for when treatment can resume. These simple additions can reduce confusion and misunderstanding for those reading the documentation in the future.

Conclusion

Poor medical documentation is a frequent cause of medical malpractice claims against all kinds of healthcare professionals, from physicians to chiropractors and more. Therefore, malpractice insurance is critical for every healthcare professional.

If you’re a chiropractor looking for a chiropractic malpractice insurance quote, Baxter & Associates can help. Contact our staff today so we can help you find a malpractice policy that suits your needs and budget.

Opening a medical clinic, like any small business, is a massive undertaking that’s difficult for many people—especially for those who know only the medical side of a practice. If you’re thinking of starting a medicine practice, our key tips below will help your clinic begin on the right foot toward becoming functional and profitable.

Obtain Funding

The first concern when building a medical clinic from scratch is securing the cash to get it up and running. Dollar amounts for how much a medical practice needs to get started depend on the situation and the practice itself.

There are two main considerations for securing funding: the startup costs, such as the medical and office equipment, and the initial operating expenses for overhead costs, staff, vendors, and more. It takes months or years for a medical practice to come close to earning a profit and generating a stable revenue stream. So until then, keeping the lights on will require additional funding. Unless you’re independently wealthy, the best way to secure funding is to get investors and loans from banks, and to do that will require a business plan.

Create a Business Plan

Like any other business, a key tip for starting a functional medicine practice is to create an informative and detailed business plan. A business plan acts as a pitch for banks and investors to secure funding and a roadmap for the medical clinic’s first couple of years of operation.

Most medical professionals launching a practice are more concerned about the medical side of the business. However, the operational and administrative side of things requires much of the thought and resources. There are many aspects of a business plan, so we’ll touch on some key elements below and how they relate to medical practice.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first section of a business plan and the first thing banks and investors will read. As the name suggests, this section is all the big ideas and plans of the other sections boiled down to a concise and attractive summary.

While it appears as the first section in the document, you should write it last to summarize the rest of the business plan accurately. The summary should be around a page or two long and feature the plan’s general information and best points, including who you are, what your practice offers, the competition, etc.

Problem and Solution

The core of any profitable business, whether a medical practice or a hot dog stand, is the problem and solution. What is the problem that the business is solving, and how will it solve the problem?

This section for a new medical clinic generally concerns the lack of specialty care in the practice area. For example, the problem may be that the aging population in such-and-such areas doesn’t have reliable chiropractic care within 50 miles, which this new chiropractic clinic will solve.

Target Market

Every business has a target market, which comprises the people the business will market toward and who will make up the core of its customer base. The target market section will relate to the problem and solution section. For example, if there aren’t enough gynecological or pediatric services in the area that a gynecology or pediatric clinic is proposing to solve, target market research will support the claim.

The target market section of a medical business plan should also include an ideal patient profile. This profile should include information like the patient’s income, health problems, where they live, their insurance, etc. It’s also wise to include a list of competitors for this target market and how this new practice will offer something different.

Marking and Sales Plan

After outlining the target market of the new practice, it’s time to explain how the practice will attract and retain this target market. A new practice has the disadvantage of not being known in the community and industry, so the marketing and sales plan is crucial for reaching the target market.

Will the clinic focus on direct mail campaigns or advertise more online? What areas will the advertising budget be most focused on and why?

Incorporate the Practice

Assuming you secure funding for your medical practice, it’s time to start the legal proceedings of starting the business, which include incorporating the practice. In many states, medical clinics can only operate as professional medical corporations, so it’s not much of a choice.

Incorporation provides many benefits to the owner—mainly, it protects the owner from personal liability for the business. So if it fails or faces problems, the business—not the owner—is liable. But owners who operate as medical professionals, like a chiropractor who runs their own clinic, would still be liable professionally for malpractice or negligence.

Invest in Quality Equipment and Staff

It may be tempting to cut corners regarding initial expenses and equipment to reduce costs at your new clinic. And while there are plenty of areas where you can make compromises, the equipment and staff are worth investing more money into for greater long-term value to the medical clinic. For example, for a chiropractic clinic, high-quality treatment tables and experienced chiropractors are well worth the investment over shoddy equipment and new staff.

New owners should also want to invest in experienced professionals for their front-office team, if they have one. An experienced front-office team will help clinic operators navigate the tumultuous waters of the first months and provide a clear delineation between the administrative and treatment side of the business.

Purchase Medical Business Insurance

Like any other business, a medicine clinic needs quality insurance coverage to protect management, employees, and the incorporated business. The following is coverage that every medical clinic requires:

• General liability insurance
• Business income insurance
• Commercial property insurance
• Workers compensation insurance

Medical clinics also have specialized insurance that caters to the unique circumstances of medical practices, such as medical malpractice insurance and medical office business insurance. Overall, quality insurance coverage is as critical to a business’s survival as the management and employees are.

Conclusion

We hope our guide on creating a medical clinic has been informative and helpful. If you’re starting a practice and need insurance coverage, Baxter & Associates can help you find medical malpractice insurance quotes that suit your business and situation. Contact our staff to learn more and find the right insurance policy for you.

At Baxter & Associates, we service many healthcare professionals—including orthodontists—and help them find comprehensive and affordable malpractice insurance. We’ll explain why orthodontists need malpractice insurance like any other healthcare provider.

Orthodontists Are as Liable as Physicians

While dentistry and orthodontics may not seemingly have the same stakes as physicians and their treatment, an orthodontist can be found just as liable for injury to a patient as any other healthcare provider. Orthodontists are responsible for diagnosing and treating dental and facial irregularities, and treatments can go wrong in many ways.

The field of orthodontics focuses on the face and smile, so incorrect treatment and mistakes can cause permanent damage to a patient’s appearance. In such cases, a patient would be significantly motivated to take action against their healthcare provider, like their orthodontist, in a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Are Common

In today’s healthcare industry, medical malpractice lawsuits are unfortunately common for most healthcare providers. The American Medical Association estimates roughly a third of physicians have been sued for malpractice at some point in their career, with roughly half of those healthcare providers being sued multiple times.

The trend of malpractice lawsuit frequency dates back to the early 1960s in the US, and with the recent strain on the industry from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not expected to decrease any time soon. Orthodontists are not immune to this trend, and if they’re not careful, one mistake could add them to the growing list of healthcare providers sued for malpractice.

Malpractice Settlements Are Increasing

Another key reason why orthodontists need malpractice insurance is that the severity of malpractice rewards and settlements is increasing. Nearly every state in the US has seen an increase in malpractice claim severity in recent years, and the trend is expected to continue.

The typical malpractice injury settlement is in the thousands and trending upward to millions. Without malpractice insurance, orthodontists sued for malpractice could see their financial security evaporate from a settlement or damage reward.

Conclusion

If you’re an orthodontist needing medical malpractice insurance, Baxter & Associates can help. Our expert staff will help you find a policy ideal for your situation, whether you’re an orthodontist, CRNA, chiropractor, or another type of healthcare professional.

Much is misunderstood about malpractice insurance, like what a liability insurance policy covers. Does malpractice insurance cover criminal charges? We answer that question and more regarding malpractice insurance below.

No, Criminal Charges Are Not Covered by Malpractice Insurance

Healthcare professionals must understand the difference between criminal charges and a malpractice lawsuit. Criminal charges are remedied in criminal court, while malpractice lawsuits occur in civil court, where the penalties are strictly financial and don’t include the threat of imprisonment.

If a healthcare provider is found to be intentionally negligent or reckless and harms a patient, they could be indicted for criminal charges, which malpractice insurance would not cover. Malpractice insurance is only for civil proceedings. Exceptions to that coverage include sexual misconduct.

Malpractice Coverage & HIPAA Violations

HIPAA violations are other common concerns regarding malpractice coverage. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with patient privacy and governs healthcare professionals, healthcare facilities, and insurance companies.

If a healthcare professional fails to maintain a patient’s privacy and is accused of a HIPAA violation, they could be hit with a malpractice lawsuit. Whether their insurance covers the lawsuit depends on their coverage. While many policies will include coverage for a HIPAA violation, it might not be standard coverage like the other costs and may require additional coverage.

What Malpractice Insurance Does Cover

We’ve discussed much of what malpractice insurance doesn’t cover, so you’re probably wondering what it covers for those facing a malpractice lawsuit. Coverage varies from one insurance provider and policy to another, but the standard framework of malpractice insurance covers the following costs:

• Attorney fees
• Court costs
• Arbitration costs
• Compensatory damages
• Settlements

Even if a malpractice insurance policy covers these costs, limits exist regarding how much a policy will pay to cover these fees per claim or policy period. If you have malpractice insurance or are searching for a policy, read the details carefully to understand the plan’s coverage.

Conclusion

Medical professionals should know many things about malpractice insurance, from what it covers to policy limits and more. At Baxter & Associates, we make the search for insurance easier for medical professionals by connecting them with policies suited for them, like nurse practitioner liability insurance. Contact our helpful staff today if you need malpractice insurance or want to learn more.

Risk assessment is an integral part of insurance. Insurance carriers categorize potential policies by risk, affecting premiums, coverage, and all other parts of the policy. In this guide, we’ll examine the risk classifications for malpractice insurance, explain the elements of a successful malpractice lawsuit, and more.

How Risks Are Classified in Malpractice Insurance

When attaining malpractice insurance for an individual or group, the insurance carrier will place the policy into one of their risk categories. Below, we’ll highlight the main risk classifications for malpractice insurance and what they mean, so individuals can better understand their policy.

Preferred Risk

The best risk category for a policy to be in is preferred risk. A preferred risk individual or group policy is a medical professional or practice with a lower risk than average of filing a claim.

Medical malpractice liability Insurance providers use stats to determine these classifications—certain specialties and practices are more or less likely to be sued for malpractice than others. Examples of low-risk practices and professions include pediatrics, psychiatry, and general family practice. These aren’t guaranteed risk-free, but they come with the least risk statistically.

Standard Risk

As one could guess, the standard risk classification is the average risk for most malpractice policies. These individuals and groups are not significantly risky or low-risk and constitute the majority of medical malpractice policies.

Most medical professionals would fall into this category—typically registered nurses to physicians and specialists. But while an individual may work in a standard risk job, if they have a history of malpractice or prior lawsuits, they may be bumped into the impaired risk category.

Impaired Risk

Lastly, the policies considered the riskiest are placed in the impaired category. The insurance carrier considers an impaired risk to be an individual or practice that is riskier than the average but not such a liability that they’re not worthy of a policy.

Those that fall in the impaired risk category are typically those that work in specialties with the highest rate of malpractice claims, which include:

• • Plastic surgeons
• • Cardiovascular surgeons
• • OB-GYNs
• • Urologists

Surgeons are often classified as impaired risks because they’re common targets for malpractice claims.

The Elements of a Successful Malpractice Claim

Along with understanding the risk classifications, it’s also wise to understand the basic elements of a malpractice claim. For a malpractice lawsuit to be successful, it must prove four elements—a duty owed to the patient, a breach of that duty, injury caused by the breach, and damages.

These elements are sometimes called the four Ds: Duty, Dereliction, Direct Cause, and Damages.

Duty Owed to Patient

The first element that a malpractice lawsuit must prove is that the defendant had a duty of care to the patient (plaintiff). A primary physician has a duty to provide competent and careful treatment and diagnosis to the patient, and a surgeon has a duty to perform the surgery competently to the best of their abilities.

A patient who suffers injury can’t simply sue whoever they want to and expect them to be held responsible if they did not have a duty of care. This element is typically the easiest part of the malpractice suit to prove and is generally uncontested by the defendant.

Breach of Duty

Once the defendant’s duty of care to the plaintiff is proven, the lawsuit must also establish that there was a breach (otherwise known as dereliction) of duty. This element is much harder to prove as it must show the defendant deviated from their duty and failed to fulfill their obligations.

Examples of breach of duty include misdiagnosing a patient, prescribing the wrong type of medication, or making surgical mistakes. Since understanding the core duties of medical treatment requires a lot of education and skill, expert witnesses and testimony are typically needed to establish whether the defendant breached their duty.

Injury Caused by Breach

If the breach of duty is proven, then the case can move to prove that the plaintiff suffered an injury due to the cause of the breach. In medical malpractice, it’s not enough that there was a mistake, but it must be proven that the mistake caused harm.

A plaintiff may claim that a misdiagnosis caused injury, but the defendant may point to pre-existing conditions or other circumstances that caused the injury, not the breach of duty. In some cases, though, this element can be obvious—like if a surgeon leaves a surgical instrument in the patient (which happens more than you think), that’s a clear line from breach of duty to injury.

Damages

Lastly, the plaintiff must prove that damages resulted from the injury caused by the breach of duty. In some cases, a mistake was made and caused injury, but the damages weren’t significant enough to reward compensation.

Damages are placed into two groups: special and general. Special damages include lost pay or the cost of corrective surgery when needed. General damages are vaguer and include pain and suffering or loss of quality of life. If a malpractice claim can prove these four elements, they will likely be successful and be rewarded compensation or a settlement with the defendant.

The 4 Cs of Medical Malpractice Risk Reduction

Naturally, its in the best interests of medical professionals and practices to reduce risk as best they can. There are many strategies for reducing risk in healthcare, but the core elements are sometimes called the four Cs: compassion, communication, competence, and charting.

Compassion & Communication

Compassion is vital in developing the doctor-patient relationship and avoiding strife that can result in a malpractice lawsuit. One of the most common reasons patients and families pursue litigation is that they felt mistreated or disrespected by the individual—so if a doctor shows compassion and understanding, they’re more likely to receive it from patients and families if a negative result occurs.

Communication is also crucial in avoiding malpractice litigation. For one, proper communication with staff helps avoid mistakes like delayed diagnosis and incorrect prescription drug administration. Communicating with patients and families also helps them understand better what’s happening and why and makes them feel heard instead of ignored.

Competence & Charting

Of course, healthcare professionals must be competent if they want to avoid malpractice litigation. But competence also refers to physicians not going past their area of expertise—consulting with colleagues and referring patients to specialists when needed.

Lastly, charting (or documentation) helps to improve communication and is useful in potential litigation. For one, it provides a written record of everything that’s happened to the patient and gives healthcare professionals the most up-to-date information regarding the patient for quality and safe care.

Conclusion

If you’d like to learn more about medical malpractice liability risk for individuals and practices, our helpful staff is eager to answer all your questions and can help you find the ideal malpractice insurance policy for you.

There are many facets to insurance policies that may confuse those unfamiliar, such as the deductible. If you’re having trouble understanding your malpractice insurance policy’s deductible, let us help with our brief explainer on the basics of malpractice policies and deductibles.

What Is an Insurance Deductible?

What is an insurance deductible, and why is it important to understand? Basically, the deductible on an insurance policy is the lump sum the insured must pay before the insurance carrier begins paying what the policy covers. Typically, the higher the deductible, the lower the monthly premiums, and vice versa.

Insurance Deductible Scenario: If you’re in an automotive accident and your vehicle needs repairs, you must pay the deductible before the insurance policy activates.

In medical malpractice terms, the healthcare professional must pay a set amount before the insurance carrier covers the costs of a settlement or legal fees and court costs. But, as we’ll discuss, the deductible may only be for an indemnity and not cover the legal fees of a lawsuit.

Do Malpractice Insurance Policies Feature a Deductible?

One thing that the insured should understand about their malpractice insurance policy’s deductible is that their policy may not even feature a deductible. A deductible is standard for basic home, auto, and healthcare insurance policies. But malpractice insurance is different, and many policies don’t feature a deductible.

While they’re not as common as they are for home or auto policies, some malpractice insurance policies feature a deductible. The deductible for a malpractice policy can vary wildly from $1,000 to $10,000 or higher, depending on the policy and what it covers.

What’s the Difference Between an Indemnity and Indemnity & Expense Deductible?

Those who decide on a deductible for their malpractice insurance have a choice between an indemnity-only and an indemnity and expense deductible. In an indemnity-only deductible policy, the insured must pay the deductible only if payment of indemnity must be made and the insured is forced to pay a settlement to the plaintiff.

So, if the defendant of a malpractice lawsuit has an indemnity-only deductible policy, they’d only pay the deductible if they lose the case and are forced to pay an indemnity. But an indemnity-only policy does not cover legal costs—an indemnity and expenses policy does. Those insured with such a policy pay the deductible immediately for legal fees.

We hope our guide has helped you understand malpractice insurance deductibles a little better. As a medical malpractice insurance agency, we understand every facet of malpractice insurance and are always happy to help those looking to learn more. Contact our helpful staff today if you have further questions or are interested in purchasing an insurance policy.

When it comes to insurance, especially malpractice insurance, there are many aspects of the policy that the insured individual should be familiar with. One of the most important components of any insurance policy is the deductible.

Malpractice insurance deductibles are different than the typical deductibles found in other policies, such as those for home or car owners. Below, we’ll explain everything you need to know about malpractice insurance deductibles, from how they’re structured to the options available.

What Is an Insurance Deductible?

First, consider the basics of deductibles and insurance policies. Deductibles are common parts of many insurance policies, whether healthcare, homeowner’s, or auto insurance. An insurance deductible is the specified amount an insured pays toward their insured loss.

The deductible is a lump sum the insured pays the insurer if the policy and coverage are activated. To use the example of auto insurance, if the insured has a $500 deductible insurance policy and gets in an accident that causes damages in the amount of $5,000, the insured would be responsible for paying the $500 before the repairs can be made or reimbursed for $4,500 for the repairs minus the deductible.

Does Every Malpractice Insurance Policy Carry a Deductible?

While deductibles are standard on most homeowner’s and auto insurance policies, they’re not typical with malpractice and professional liability policies. Since malpractice insurance differs from other types of insurance and covers different costs, most policies don’t include a deductible.

Many policies will carry a deductible option, but it’s not mandatory unless the individual is joining a group malpractice insurance policy where the deductible is required. Those seeking individual malpractice insurance policies will likely have the option of having a deductible. And while the deductible may be a substantial lump sum, a higher deductible could mean lower premiums, so it is worth considering.

How Are Malpractice Insurance Deductibles Different?

Malpractice insurance is already quite different from other forms of insurance regarding deductibles, but they’re also structured differently. While deductibles for most insurance policies, like auto and home coverage, must be paid immediately to activate policy coverage, malpractice deductibles are slightly different.

Individuals looking for malpractice insurance have two options regarding deductibles—indemnity-only or indemnity and expense. Both deductible types are fairly common, but they do have distinct characteristics.

Indemnity-Only Deductibles

An indemnity-only deductible, otherwise known as loss-only, is a deductible that is only required when the insurance provider pays an indemnity. An indemnity is compensation for damages or losses agreed upon in a settlement or levied on the defendant by the court.

If there is no indemnity, where the claim is either dismissed or resolved in favor of the insured defendant, then the insured wouldn’t have to pay the deductible at all. An indemnity-only deductible is only required when a settlement is agreed to or the lawsuit is resolved.

Consent-to-Settlement Clause & Deductibles

Those with an indemnity-only deductible should also consider a consent-to-settlement clause in their insurance policy. A consent-to-settlement clause is a provision that requires the insurer to seek the insured’s approval before settling a claim. While this clause is common in many policies, it’s not standard and shouldn’t be assumed by the insured.

Those with an indemnity-only deductible would naturally want to consent to a settlement, as that’s when the indemnity-only deductible would activate and they’d have to pay a large sum. Without the clause, there’s an incentive for the insurer to agree on a settlement to resolve the claim and activate the indemnity-only deductible.

Indemnity & Expense Deductibles

The other type of deductible in malpractice insurance is indemnity and expense. While the deductible covers the indemnity—should any be paid—it also covers other expenses, like court and legal fees.

It doesn’t matter if an indemnity has been reached yet; most indemnity and expense deductibles are required immediately once the claim is filed. The indemnity and expense deductible is typically more common than an indemnity-only deductible if the policy has any deductible at all.

Which Malpractice Deductible Is Best for Me?

Choosing which deductible is best for you and your insurance policy will primarily come down to your preferences. Each deductible type has its advantages, as an indemnity-only deductible is paid only when the claim is resolved and may not be paid at all if the claim is dismissed or resolved in favor of the defendant.

However, indemnity-only deductibles are typically higher than indemnity and expense deductibles, which must be paid immediately to cover legal costs like lawyer and court fees. One type of deductible may also yield a lower policy premium, so you should carefully weigh each deductible’s pros and cons before deciding.

How Much Should I Pay for My Malpractice Insurance Deductible?

One of the most common questions that many searching for new malpractice insurance policies ask is how much they should pay for a deductible. The price of a malpractice policy deductible depends on numerous factors, including the individual’s risk factor. Some medical professions have inherently higher risk factors and are more likely to have higher premiums or deductibles for coverage.

Some malpractice deductibles are as low as $1,000, while some are as high as $25,000 or more. Keep in mind, a higher deductible typically means a lower premium and vice versa. Those shopping for a new malpractice policy should decide if they’re more financially capable of paying a higher monthly premium or greater lump sum for their coverage.

How Do I Find Suitable Malpractice Insurance?

If you’re ready to find a malpractice insurance policy that best fits you, Baxter & Associates can help. Baxter & Associates provides professional liability insurance for many medical professions, from CRNA medical malpractice insurance to group insurance policies for healthcare facilities.

Some examples of the medical professions we serve as malpractice insurance brokers include:

• Doctors
• Dental professionals
• Podiatrists
• Chiropractors
• Nurse practitioners
• Physician assistants and more

As a national insurance broker with decades of experience, we’ll help connect you with a policy that’s ideally tailored to your situation, whether you know exactly what you want or if need help finding the right policy. Contact our helpful staff at Baxter & Associates, and we’ll ensure that you’re sufficiently covered in the case of a medical malpractice claim.

A malpractice lawsuit can have a significant impact on a healthcare professional’s career. Even if the lawsuit is ultimately dismissed or the clinician is found not liable, the experience of going through a malpractice suit can be stressful and time-consuming and can have lasting effects on their professional reputation and career prospects.

The rise of malpractice claims is an unfortunate part of working in the healthcare industry. Below, we’ll explain how a malpractice lawsuit can impact any healthcare provider’s career, from reputational damage to lengthy court proceedings.

Loss of Work & Reputational Damage

The primary effect that a malpractice claim can have against an individual is permanently damaging their reputation and causing a loss of work. Depending on the severity and outcome of the claim and incident, a healthcare provider may be immediately terminated from their position.

A malpractice claim can cost an individual their current position and prevent them from securing the same position somewhere due to the reputational damage from the lawsuit. Reputation and trust are essential to securing employment in the healthcare industry, and a malpractice claim can permanently stain anyone’s career and prevent future work.

Lengthy Proceedings

How does a malpractice lawsuit work and how long does it take? A case has several different stages. The length of the proceedings is another aspect of a malpractice lawsuit that can impact a healthcare provider’s career. A malpractice case, even one decided relatively quickly via settlement, will often take over a year, with some cases stretching for multiple years.

A malpractice claim hanging over the head of a professional can add significant stress and distraction, like a black cloud following them everywhere. The time it takes to resolve a claim can be immensely frustrating and discouraging for those who want to resolve the claim and move on with their careers and lives.

Decline in Job Performance

It’s easy to see how the looming threat of a malpractice claim can affect the job performance of a healthcare provider. Professionals in this field must be confident in their knowledge and abilities while working, but a malpractice suit undermines self-confidence.

The significance of the lawsuit and the perpetual waiting can easily lead to a decline in job performance, as healthcare providers are distracted, frustrated, and exhausted from the lengthy and cumbersome process.

Disillusionment With Career

All these effects of a malpractice lawsuit have led to many healthcare providers becoming disillusioned with their careers and the entire industry. While many people enter healthcare because they want to help others, the legal entanglement and frustration of a malpractice claim have forced many to change their careers due to their disappointment.

Even those who settle their malpractice claim or win the lawsuit and are absolved of any wrongdoing have changed careers for an industry with fewer risks as a healthcare provider. It’s an unfortunate and darker side of healthcare that many can’t stomach after direct exposure.

Conclusion

A malpractice lawsuit can negatively affect a healthcare provider’s career in many ways, which is why malpractice insurance is essential. At Baxter & Associates, we help healthcare professionals get the necessary coverage they need, whether that’s CRNA moonlighting malpractice insurance or another form of insurance. Contact our staff if you’d like to learn more about malpractice insurance, including your insurance policy’s deductible.