ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
When a physician receives an employment contract, they are typically pretty savvy about knowing to look for the medical malpractice coverage provision to see if it provides them adequate coverage. In most employment agreements, the employer will cover the physician's medical malpractice coverage. Sometimes the cost of this coverage is taken out of the physician's practice income, and other times the coverage is provided at the expense of the employer, under a large umbrella policy like the ones hospitals and large practices have. While who ends up paying for the coverage is obviously important to the physician, there are issues of even greater import that should be more concerning to physicians. Most physicians have heard terms such as, "occurance-based," or "claims-made" and "tail coverage." But knowing which type of insurance is or is not included in your agreement, and what additional insurance you may need, is something best left to a physician contract lawyer to decipher. Without experience with medical malpractice coverage provisions, it is difficult to know with certainty whether the employment contract may leave you exposed. In addition to the type of insurance offered, and whether tail coverage may be needed, a separate issue that is often unknown to physicians are specific state law requirements that can have an enormous impact. For example, some states have patient compensation funds for which physicians may be eligible if their malpractice coverage is adequate. Such funds may provide additional coverage to physicians in instances where they are found liable in a malpractice lawsuit. Therefore, whether your employment contract complies with such state law provisions may have a significant impact on your potential exposure to medical malpractice liability. A thorough legal review of any physician employment agreement is crucial to ensure you are appropriately covered under the medical malpractice provision included in your contract. To learn more about physician contract legal review assistance, please click here to read about our Analyze & Shape service.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING