I HAVE MALPRACTICE INSURANCE
WHY DO I NEED ANYTHING ELSE?

Have you ever read your malpractice insurance policy? Probably not. Florida physicians pay handsomely for their malpractice coverage and assume that it will fully protect them if they are sued. Unfortunately, such is not always the case. Historically, the number of medical malpractice insurance carriers in Florida has fluctuated dramatically depending on market conditions. Although not generally a concern, it cannot always be assumed that the insurance carrier will remain solvent or that it will not dispute its coverage of the claim.

On March 13, 2014 the Florida Supreme Court decided McCall v. USA. McCall ruled Florida's Medical Malpractice Damages Caps unconstituonal. The primary concern for the insured physician lies in the physician’s personal responsibility for payment of any judgment amount that exceeds the policy’s limits. The vast majority of Florida physicians with hospital staff privileges carry only $250/750 limits. This means that there is only $250,000 of coverage for any given case. Your malpractice policy probably says that once the insurance company pays its limits, it does not have to pay anything more and does not even have to continue defending you. You’re on your own. READ YOUR POLICY. All that matters is what is written there.

Other important things for the insured physician to know:

1. You and your defense attorney may not have the right to decide whether the case will settle or for how much. Florida Statute 627.4147(1)(b)(1) allows a malpractice insurer to give that exclusive authority to itself.
2. Florida Statute 766.1185 increases the individual physician’s exposure to an excess judgment by attempting to limit the malpractice insurance company’s responsibility for payment.
3. If your case goes to court and you lose, that counts as a “strike” against you under Amendment 8. (Three strikes at any point in your career means you MUST lose your Florida medical license)
4. Your defense attorney will be selected by the insurance company
5. Your defense attorney will be paid by the insurance company
6. Many, if not most, of your defense attorney’s other cases come from the same malpractice carrier as yours.

Click here to find out how the Medical Malpractice Triage Service protects the insured physician.