What Does Professional Indemnity Insurance Cover For Nurses?

Medical lawsuits are common in Australia. While most people know that nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals need to have some type of professional indemnity insurance coverage, understanding what is or isn’t covered under one of these policies can be confusing. In this article, we’re here to help you understand the types of situations that you will be protected from with a Professional Indemnity Insurance policy.

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Professional Indemnity Insurance (or PII) is a special type of insurance that protects professionals from errors and mistakes made while performing services. In the nursing field, this can be common since each patient is unique and may require different procedures or personalised advice. While nurses may be extremely diligent to avoid any errors that could cause physical, emotional, or psychological harm, mistakes can happen from time to time that may result in a lawsuit or claim against the nurse, their employer, or private practice.

Below are some examples of the types of situations that Professional Indemnity Insurance can protect nurses from. NOTE: Each insurance policy is different so be sure to understand what is or is not covered in the specific policy you are considering buying.

1. Medication Errors - Nurses are often responsible for giving medication to patients. A mistake in calculating the dosage, or giving to little or high a dose, could result in a bad reaction, exacerbation of the illness being treated, or medical emergency. These miscalculations can be a result of not factoring in the correct bodyweight of the patient or simply incorrectly reading their notes.
2. Inaccurate Documentation - Nurses assist doctors and physicians with gathering and recording important medical data and vitals that are used in recommending treatment plans. Failing to note an allergy or forgetting to record abnormal vitals can cause the doctor to misdiagnose the patient or overlook a potentially hazardous medical condition.
3. Equipment Mistakes - Nurses receive special training on how to work the complex medical equipment in their respective facility. Even simple mistakes like an incorrect setting can be detrimental to a patient. For example, failing to turn on a bed alarm for a patient who is at high risk for falls could result in an injury. Or, incorrectly programming an IV pump could cause an overdose of medication.
4. Bad Treatment Advice - Patients rely on medical professionals, including nurses, to give them advice on how to care for themselves when they go home from the hospital or following a procedure. Accidentally giving incorrect advice could lead to infections, slow healing times, or serious injury.
5. Negligence - In many cases, nurses are extremely busy trying to balance multiple patients at a time. This is when negligence, both accidental and intentional, can occur. For example, failing to report a change in the patient’s condition or forgetting to follow up when you are busy could cause the patient physical harm and potentially result in a lawsuit.

Helping Nurses Stay Protected With Tailored Professional Indemnity Insurance

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