INTRODUCTION

This insurance covers claims against an insured health care professional alleging malpractice arising from his or her professional acts or omissions or those of persons for whom he or she is responsible.

Insurance coverage for health care professional liability exposures may be written using the standard Insurance Services Office (ISO) Coverage Form or independent coverage forms and policies prepared by and filed on behalf of individual insurance companies.

In many cases, coverage must be written using agents of domestic companies listed in the Market Directory and through Lloyd's representatives. Much of this business is now written through various state Joint Underwriting Associations and doctors' mutual insurance companies.

HIGH STANDARD OF CARE

Health care providers are extremely vulnerable to claims for errors and omissions. This is because human lives and people's health are involved. An error or omission can result in serious injury or a patient's death. An injury could seriously reduce the patient’s quality of life and result in that patient requiring life-long maintenance in an assisted living facility. A patient's death could result in dependent children being left without a parent’s support. A birth-related injury could result in parents being responsible to care for a severely disabled infant for the rest of that child’s life. This results in the need for high insurance limits.

Health care providers are not held to absolute standards of performance. Courts both in the past and currently recognize that medicine is a profession that requires judgment. However, providers are required to exercise a degree of care and skill common to their area of expertise. Not every medical intervention results in a favorable outcome. The issue that must be resolved in a malpractice action is to determine what a competent and prudent provider would have done under the same circumstances and in the same geographical area.