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Thank You!
FOGS and the Florida Section ACOG recognize their corporate supporters
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Liability Issues Report
Please use this form liberally to report the related practice problems you are facing
The Form
On Call Medical Coats
FOGS has teamed up with On Call Medical Coats to offer our members quality embroidered labcoats
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FOGS Endorsed Malpractice Carrier offering a 5% discount to FOGS members
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Lubell & Rosen
FOGS Endorsed
Pre-Paid Legal Defense
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Your practice could receive a dividend of up to 24.8% of your workers compensation premium.
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Going Bare Talking Points
1. Buying coverage is really about indemnity AND defense costs. FPIC provides experienced litigation management to minimize expenses in defense of a case. The defense costs are very expensive and can run higher than the indemnity payment. The attorney hourly rates that FPIC negotiates for its insureds would be very different than the rate an attorney would charge an individual physician. A physician may not have the resources to battle a claim and, as a result, may be forced to enter into a settlement. In addition, FPIC provides some reimbursement for lost earnings as a result of the physician being away from his or her practice.
2. Going bare is not a one-time event for a physician. There is a lot of time and planning involved in maintaining the status of a bare physician. Every time a bare physician obtains a new asset, it has to be determined how to protect that asset. The expense involved in ongoing asset protection may be greater than the professional liability insurance premium.
3. Bankruptcy is a real possibility for bare physicians who experience a substantial verdict in favor of a plaintiff. The new bankruptcy law may create problems for physicians who seek to discharge a medical malpractice claim. Even if a physician successfully discharges a claim there may be a negative effect as a result of their patients who receive letters from court appointed receivers who are seeking direct payment of co-payments.
4. Even if a bare physician qualifies for bankruptcy, new bankruptcy laws impact the applicability of the homestead exemption for a physician's personal residence.
5. In the event a physician decides to appeal, a bond must be posted for any judgment. The bond requires collateral that a physician may not have after paying for attorney fees.
6. If the physician does not pay a court judgment, arbitration award, or settlement arising from a malpractice judgment, a physician risks a suspension of their medical license by the Florida Board of Medicine.
7. Bare physicians must comply with the financial responsibility reporting requirements of the Board of Medicine as a condition of licensing. The failure to timely report may lead to disciplinary action against a physician's license to practice medicine.
8. There is no insurance for licensure investigation expenses. Even a simple complaint that is defensible from a competitor or patient can run into thousands of dollars to defend. Disciplinary action against a physician's license could have more of an impact on a physician's career than a medical malpractice claim.
9. Premiums previously paid will not cover claims reported after the claims-made coverage has expired. However, a bare physician will likely not be able to purchase tail coverage exposing the physician for all past incidents.
10. Hospitals that allow physicians to go bare may not end up paying for the physician's losses. Under Florida's Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act, any defendant in a lawsuit has the right to settle the case and pursue any party, whether they are named or unnamed in the litigation, in a subsequent action. In other words, the hospital can sue the bare physician(s) for losses sustained.
11. A bare physician is always asked to testify against insured co-defendants by the plaintiff attorney. The bare physician(s) must then make the difficult decision to either go against colleagues or be forced to pay a settlement.
12. Referring physicians may feel uncomfortable referring to a bare physician fearing that they will become the target in any medical malpractice claim.
13. The bare physician is all alone. A bare physician only has the support of a lawyer who, and it must be noted, is charging for every call and action taken on behalf of the physician. Insurance carriers provide not only a defense lawyer and team, but also experienced claims handlers, as well as attentive and sympathetic risk managers.