CNA Training & Insurance
So, you’ve just completed your CNA training and have secured a fantastic position at your local hospital or nursing home. You are ready to begin a successful career as a certified nursing assistant. As exciting as this prospect may be, you should be aware that becoming a certified nursing assistant may result in you needing to purchase liability insurance?
Why? Read on for more information.
Why Do You Need Individual Liability Insurance After CNA Training?
After CNA training, you will be responsible for caring for many patients. At times, you may even hold their lives in your hands. While your CNA training will prepare to deal with any situation you encounter, there is always a chance of an incident occurring. If a patient or a patient’s family sues you, you may have to go to court. This is one of the main reasons many CNA purchase liability insurance.
So, what is liability insurance? This insurance is a service that provides you with the coverage you need, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. It is able to offer a broad range of coverage against lawsuits, including defense costs, deposition representation, certification protection, medical payments, first aid expense, personal injury coverage, defendant expenses, and occurrence-based coverage. Without it, you may be left alone after CNA training, having to pay all court fees and damages on your own if an incident occurs.
Not sure whether you need to obtain individual liability insurance? Consider these top five reasons why you should.
- Many CNA training graduates do not purchase their own liability insurance because they believe their own employers have them covered. However, many employers do not offer liability or malpractice insurance for CNAs, and if they do, it is often limited coverage. While you may think you are covered for the unexpected, you may not be.
- If your employer does provide coverage, it is only good for the duration of your employment. This means that you could potentially be sued for an incident that occurred a year ago, and if you no longer work at that facility, you may be personally liable for all of the costs of the lawsuit.
- Facilities often change hands. While one owner may recognize the need for liability insurance for you after you complete CNA training, the next may not. You could potentially go from insurance to uninsured in a matter of hours while a nursing home or hospital is being bought and sold.
- Full coverage from your employer does not always help you after CNA training. Anyone in the health care industry can be sued personally for errors on their part. If your patient decides to sue you personally, instead of your employer, your employer-provided liability insurance will not cover you.
- Employer coverage will only cover you while you are at work. It does not protect you outside of your facility. This means, if you see someone have a heart attack while waiting for the bus and decide to perform CPR, you take a chance of being sued without coverage if you break the individual’s ribs while you are saving him.
Individual liability coverage is essential after CNA training. While many employers will offer you limited liability insurance through your employment, this does not always mean you will be spared the cost of a trial and associated expenses. Before you begin working as a CNA, be sure to purchase this type of insurance.
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