You can sue a doctor without malpractice insurance, but you should prepare for a complex legal process. A legal advocate can guide you through legal and medical issues and toward compensation and justice.
Requirements for Malpractice Insurance
Many states require a minimum amount of malpractice insurance coverage—and sometimes a greater amount if the physician enjoys hospital staff privileges. Under Florida Statutes §
458.320, a physician must have coverage of no less than $100,000 per claim. The requirements vary from state to state.
However, these laws also sometimes allow doctors to opt-out of traditional malpractice insurance policies. Instead, doctors can use secured assets, like trust accounts or bank letters of credit, to prove that they can cover malpractice claims.
As a patient, you have the right to ask if your physician has malpractice insurance.
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How You Can Recover Damages Without Malpractice Insurance
Malpractice insurance protects you and your loved ones if you suffer illness or injury as a result of medical negligence or error. However, you can still collect an award for your physical and emotional losses in certain situations, even if your doctor does not have malpractice insurance.
In the latter situation, you would essentially sue a doctor without malpractice insurance.
Grounds for a malpractice claim against a doctor include the following:
- If your injury or illness happened in a hospital or other authorized medical facility.
- If a defective medical product caused your injury or illness.
- If contaminated or otherwise unsafe medication caused your injury or illness.
A medical malpractice lawsuit includes many components. You have the right to choose a lawyer to help you recover compensation and justice from all liable parties.
How a Hospital Could Be Liable for your Damages
A hospital’s malpractice insurance could cover your damages, even if your doctor does not have individual malpractice coverage. Hospitals carry an obligation to keep patients from harm through oversight by their medical and administrative staff.
The following situations could result in a hospital’s liability for your illness or injury:
- Your physician performed unnecessary or incorrect surgery.
- You developed complications, such as an infection, due to poor care while hospitalized.
- Hospital staff administered the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage.
A medical malpractice lawyer can identify all liable parties who possibly played a role in your injury or illness. This matters a great deal to your case because your medical and personal care expenses could exhaust a physician’s malpractice limits or personal assets.
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Hospitals Must Carry Malpractice Insurance
Like doctors, hospitals carry malpractice insurance policies. Other facilities that may carry malpractice insurance include:
- Surgical centers.
- Skilled nursing facilities.
- Substance abuse and rehabilitation facilities.
- Imaging centers.
- Lab facilities.
- Urgent care or walk-in facilities.
- Assisted living facilities (ALF).
- Birthing centers.
Also, before a nurse practitioner can treat you, they must be covered by their sponsoring physician’s malpractice insurance.
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Understanding Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a physician deviates from accepted medical practices that another doctor under similar circumstances would follow.
For example, your doctor failed to order a biopsy for an unusual mole, and you later receive a diagnosis for stage two melanoma also known as a type of skin cancer. You could sue a doctor without malpractice insurance because another doctor would likely have ordered a biopsy for a mole that looked unusual or suspicious.
A Lawyer Will Help You Sue a Doctor Without Malpractice Insurance
You should understand that a medical injury may occur even when doctors diligently follow accepted medical practices. This is why the circumstances of your case must meet certain criteria in order for it to be considered medical malpractice.
These criteria include the existence of:
- A doctor-patient relationship.
- An expected standard of care because of this doctor-patient relationship.
- A breach of this duty of care by deviating or neglecting accepted medical practices.
- Injuries or illness (or worsening of existing injury or illness) resulting from this breach of care.
- Damages resulting from this injury or illness.
Each state’s statute of limitations also restricts how long you may have to file a malpractice lawsuit. For example, under Florida Statute § 95, you have two years to file a malpractice claim.
Finding a Lawyer to Ask About Medical Malpractice
The complexity of medical malpractice cases stems from the fact that they usually involve numerous liable parties and complicated medical information. Also, the average person might hesitate to take on an intimidating, prominent physician or established medical institution.
Our medical malpractice lawyers at Ben Crump Law, PLLC understand the legal requirements for pursuing compensation and justice from medical malpractice. We work for you on a contingency basis, meaning you pay no upfront costs or fees. Instead, you pay us only if and when we win a settlement or award on your behalf.
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We can help you sue a doctor without malpractice insurance. A member of our firm is ready to take your call so you can make an informed decision about your case.