Require enough med-mal coverage from doctors
Require enough med-mal coverage from doctors
When a co-defendant starts saying everything is the hospital's fault, it might be because you have deeper pockets. Ward off some of that finger-pointing by making sure the doctors have enough coverage to pay the tab themselves.
Stuart Grossman, JD, an attorney with Grossman Roth in Boca Raton, FL, points out that it is normal for the defendant physicians to explain that they do not practice medicine in a vacuum, that they depend on the hospital and staff to interact appropriately. A more hostile turn from the physician, aggressively trying to shift blame to the hospital, usually happens because the physician either sincerely believes the hospital was more at fault or because the prospect of a huge judgment prompts a panicky, desperate defense.
The best way to prevent the latter is by making physicians carry adequate coverage for their own defense, Grossman says.
"Make them carry a ton of coverage, so that you're not faced with being their bank [and] being their deep pocket when they're sued," he says. "It has to be significant malpractice coverage, enough to cover the kind of harm they might cause."
Having adequate coverage can avoid the blame game, and risk managers can explain that requiring insurance with high limits is part of an overall strategy to avoid having a malpractice case ruin their relationship, Grossman says. The risk manager can explain that when all parties come to the table with the right insurance coverage, no one has to turn on the other. And that also means that the hospital won't go after the physician.
"Risk managers can find themselves in an ironic situation when they wanted to play nice with the doctors by imposing high malpractice insurance requirements; but at the end of the day, he does not return the favor. He's looking at you as the bank," Grossman says. "Games are played over who will pay for a horribly injured patient, and with a little forethought you can tell them, 'Now's the time for you to pony up, not us.'"
Sources
For more information on avoiding conflicts with co-defendants, contact:
Stuart Grossman, JD, Grossman Roth, Boca Raton, FL. Telephone: (561) 367-8666.
When a co-defendant starts saying everything is the hospital's fault, it might be because you have deeper pockets. Ward off some of that finger-pointing by making sure the doctors have enough coverage to pay the tab themselves.Subscribe Now for Access
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