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Navigating Insurance Coverage Issues in Med Mal Litigation

By Kevin M. Quinley
August 02, 2015

For a physician or other health care defendant, being sued for medical malpractice is stressful. The saving grace for many is the financial safety net of liability insurance to cushion the blow and avoid monetary ruin for a physician or hospital. However, every net ' including a safety net ' has holes. Health care defendants can learn, often too late, that they face unexpected insurance coverage headaches. Being aware of these problems before a crisis erupts can arm the practitioner to perhaps avoid facing such traps during the lifespan of a malpractice claim.

This article's purpose is to spotlight potential insurance coverage tripwires that can exist in medical malpractice litigation. The aim is to empower physicians, other health care professionals and those who provide legal counsel to them to sidestep insurance coverage problems that can hamstring effective defense or be an expensive distraction during litigation. These observations flow from the author's experience as a claims professional and 30-plus years of handling medical liability claims. The views here do not constitute legal advice, but rather risk management observations and practice tips for health care defendants and those who represent them.

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