Malpractice insurance question

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r_salis said:
If you're working at a group practice which has liability insurance covering all the doctors at the site, should you also get your own individual malpractice coverage?
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From many practice development classes that I'm sure you remember.... 😉 Yes, you should still always have your own malpractice insurance. I can't remember all the reasons why but I assume it's mostly a safety net so you don't get caught out with some loophole in the practice's plan. Also, this way you can also work at other locations if you wanted to without worrying about it.

On top of all that, the cost for OD malpractice is relatively low.. around $500 I think.
 
EyeBaller said:
From many practice development classes that I'm sure you remember.... 😉 Yes, you should still always have your own malpractice insurance. I can't remember all the reasons why but I assume it's mostly a safety net so you don't get caught out with some loophole in the practice's plan. Also, this way you can also work at other locations if you wanted to without worrying about it.

On top of all that, the cost for OD malpractice is relatively low.. around $500 I think.
Click to expand...

My malpractice this year was $2000.

If you are employed somewhere, I believe it is a good idea to carry your own policy. It is true that you may want to work elsewhere....but I don't really foresee it as a loophole issue because if you get into trouble and your employers insurance does NOT cover you, the loophole will be that they go after the employer personally which they will definately not want.

But the biggest reason to carry your own insurance is the following:

In the unlikely event that you are named in an action, your employers insurance will do what's in the best interest of the EMPLOYER, not necissarily you. And that is something you want to avoid.
 
EyeBaller said:
From many practice development classes that I'm sure you remember.... 😉
Click to expand...
Hahahahaha. Got me. 😉

The cost for malpractice insurance for NY state is $374-$498, but for the 5 boroughs it's $1049-$1399! 😱 Stupid lawyer-saturated city...
 
It's definitely good to have your own coverage. The office I work in insists on it. Any lawyer worth anything will sue both you AND the people you work for.

Thank goodness I'm not in miami ... they're coverage is double what I pay. Last years rates were about $650. I'll see what they are in September when I have to renew. I've heard they're going up again.
 
The cost of malpractice insurance depends greatly upon the scope of practice. Where it might cost $2k, the coverage might include pre- and post- operative care.
 
362.04 said:
The cost of malpractice insurance depends greatly upon the scope of practice. Where it might cost $2k, the coverage might include pre- and post- operative care.
Click to expand...

That makes sense to me -- but why is NYC coverage so high, when we only have such a middle-of-the-road scope (no orals yet 🙁 )?
 
This is per month, right?

And Nevada, NYC, Miami seem to be the highest that you all have mentioned...? What about for OK and TN where the scopes are a little more expanded?
 
Out of curiousity, why is Nevada a high-risk state? Are we only considering Vegas in this instance or does Reno/Sparks have high premiums as well? What about the small towns in the rest of the state?
 
Can someone direct me towards which malpractice ins company has a good rate in NY? I know that that rates are different between NYC and the rest of the state. Any advice would be appreciated 🙂
 
r_salis said:
If you're working at a group practice which has liability insurance covering all the doctors at the site, should you also get your own individual malpractice coverage?
Click to expand...

I say no, its not needed unless you plan on working outside of the practice on some days. Unless you are performing any laser procedures (OK only) I'd say more malpractice is overkill.

#1 reason Optometrists are sued is because of misdiagnosis, and specifically its with diagnosing glaucoma. Outside of that the $1/3million or $2/4million is more than enough.


r_salis said:
That makes sense to me -- but why is NYC coverage so high, when we only have such a middle-of-the-road scope (no orals yet 🙁 )?
Click to expand...

It is because of the infamous Nassau County. NYC and Long Island combined is its own malpractice territory for that reason. People sue for anything, not necessarily correlating with scope of practice.

To give you another example that I know of personally, an ophthalmologist working in Nassau County pays about $30K in malpractice annually, same surgeon inquired about Arizona rates and got quotes for $13K annual!

Sucks...
 
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