Updated May 29, 2020

What Does Medical Malpractice Insurance Cover?

Medical malpractice insurance—also called medical professional liability insurance—is a special kind of professional liability insurance for medical providers. Physicians and other medical professionals use it for protection in instances where negligence resulted in patient injury or property damage.

In Indiana, physicians are not required by law to maintain liability insurance. However, employers and hospitals typically require it.

What Are the Different Types of Medical Malpractice Insurance?

Because of the nature of medicine, doctors can have many different insurance policies that work in different ways, including claims-made, occurrence, group, and personal coverage.

Claims-Made Coverage

Claims-made coverage guarantees coverage during the time of incident. It also ensures coverage for when the malpractice claim was filed. Once a claims-made policy ends, no coverage will be granted. Policyholders have the option to extend the policy period.

Occurrence Coverage

Occurrence coverage policies are relatively cheap and provide coverage for conduct that took place within the policy term, regardless of when the claim was made. It guarantees coverage at all times.

Group Coverage

Group coverage is through the medical care facility and covers all employees.

Personal Coverage

Doctors are more likely to be independent contractors than employees, but even if they are, they could still carry personal coverage.

What Does Medical Malpractice Insurance Cover?

Medical malpractice insurance protects medical professionals from liability in claims of medical negligence that result in injuries or costs. If a healthcare provider makes a mistake that causes bodily injury, property damage, or other injuries like mental anguish, the liability insurance provider covers the costs.

In addition, medical malpractice insurance also covers the costs of defending malpractice lawsuits, including legal fees, expert witness fees, clerical expenses, and other related expenses.

Not everything that a doctor does is covered under medical malpractice insurance. If the doctor is accused of criminal behavior or another illegal act, damages aren’t covered. Sexual misconduct and employee disputes are also not covered.

What Are Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Damage Caps?

The most that you can recover in medical malpractice damages in the state of Indiana is $1,250,000. However, this money doesn’t all come from the same place.

Assuming that a victim is suing for that amount, the medical provider would provide the first $250,000, and the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund would provide the rest of the money, up to $1,000,000.

Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney Today

Navigating the world of medical malpractice lawsuits can be overwhelming because of the number of hoops plaintiffs have to jump through. With the right team of attorneys and nurse consultants, you don’t have to go through this alone.

If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of medical malpractice, contact the attorneys of Wilson Kehoe Winingham. An experienced Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyer at WKW can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call 317.920.6400 or fill out an online contact form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

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Let WKW put our experience to work for you. Contact us for your free case evaluation.

 

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