What Are the General Liability Issues for Doctors?

Liability insurance is a big issue for all doctors. They face a string of liability issues when attending to patients and must tread carefully in their practice. A medical malpractice suit can cause financial and emotional hardship, an enormous amount of time and the potential for a stained reputation. This type of insurance is far and away the most important liability for a doctor.

Surgical Malpractice

• Surgical malpractice is a very serious potential liability because an error in this arena could cause permanent harm or death. A serious complication is much more likely to receive a malpractice suit than a light one. Surgeons sometimes face crucial life or death decisions under intense time pressure and must be free to pursue the best option available. To have this freedom, surgical doctors must have the proper insurance policy.

Prescription Malpractice

• Prescription malpractice liability is another common issue. Patients can become addicted to some painkillers or prescription medicines which will have an extremely negative impact on their health. In addition, patients have the ability to accuse doctors of purposely selling their prescriptions of certain drugs to the highest bidder. If proven, the medical license would certainly be taken away and cause a tremendous amount of financial harm Liability to cover the court expense of these suits would also be worth obtaining.

Misdiagnosis

• Another important consideration for doctors is the potential for misdiagnosis of a disease. If another disease is conclusively determined at a later point in time, the patient may have cause for suit due to an inadequate first diagnosis. Due to this liability, doctors are much more likely to order additional tests such as X-rays, CAT Scans and blood examinations. These additional tests drive up the cost of medical care generally and have potential to cause additional harm to the patient.

General Ownership Issues

• Like other businesses, doctors have the responsibility to provide a clean and safe work environment for their employees and patients. Doctors are responsible for workers compensation insurance, property and casualty insurance as well as insurance to cover natural disasters. Unpredictable problems such as an an injured worker or a massive flood can have serious consequences for the office. As such, doctors should purchase all of these types of insurance to protect their interests.