Insurance for Physical Therapists
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What Insurance Do Physical Therapists Need?
Professional Liability Insurance (or E&O Insurance), protects your small business from claims of mistakes, negligence or malpractice made when providing your services that caused somebody financial loss. PLI covers your legal defense costs, damages and settlements.
Workers Compensation covers your employees' medical costs and lost wages while recovering from a work-related injury or illness. The employee gives up the right to sue your company in return for receiving cash and benefits from Workers Compensation. In some states it’s mandatory for businesses!
Business Owners Policy (BOP) protects you from business liability and property damage at a lower cost. BOP covers claims resulting from fire, theft & disasters. BOP also covers claims of bodily injury or property damage during your business operations.
Umbrella Policy adds an extra layer of protection to professionals if a serious event or cumulative claims exhaust your current policy limits. It also covers you for events that would otherwise be excluded from your other policies.
Commercial Auto Insurance covers your cars, trucks, and vans used in your business. It covers the costs from vehicle damage in collisions, theft, vandalism and weather damage. It also covers medical expenses for to injured parties.
General Liability Insurance protects your small business against claims of third-party bodily injury and property damage, reputational harm and advertising injury. It covers medical bills, repair costs & legal fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Physical Therapists and insurance connect?
As a physical therapist, you have committed your life to help people recover from injuries and disabilities in order to reach their full potential. However, even despite the best intentions for the fitness and wellness of your clients, you are still at risk for lawsuits.
Physical therapists can face many liability risks in the field. Whether it’s accusations of negligence, sexual misconduct, or injury, practicing physical therapists can easily be caught in litigation. Unfortunately, no matter how carefully you do your job, the very nature of your work is risky. Even long-term trusted clients can end up filing a claim against you if they don’t achieve the kinds of results they were hoping for.
As a Physical Therapist, encountering a lawsuit can potentially cost you tens of thousands of dollars just to defend yourself; this does not include the settlement costs accrued if you end up losing. Making sure that you are covered by the right insurance is a way for you to avoid jeopardizing your finances and the future of your career.
What risks do Physical Therapists face?
Any profession that deals with other people comes with its share of risks. However, these risks are increased in the healthcare field. No matter how many years you studied or how many years you have been working, you are only human and mistakes can still occur.
The amount of Professional Liability claims brought against Physical Therapists is considerable. This is partially due to the varying methodologies from state to state which makes it hard to define sweeping standards for Physical Therapists.
As a Physical Therapist, your profession is based on manipulating the human body. In recent years, the demand for Physical Therapy services has begun to grow as the general population grows older. In this line of work, even your best efforts and intentions could potentially result in limited or even no progress by your patients. In some cases, you may even risk exacerbating existing conditions or inadvertently causing new injuries.
Malpractice allegations against physical care providers are no longer only based on errors or mistakes in treatments. Today, these lawsuits can stem merely from how a patient or client feels they were treated—or mistreated—by you or your facility.
Why do I need my own Professional Liability insurance as a Physical Therapist?
Your employer may have physical therapy Professional Liability insurance for you but this isn't enough. For instance, the policy limits of your employer may not be high enough to protect you, or the coverage won't likely extend outside the workspace, like volunteering or self-employed activities. These gaps in your employer's malpractice insurance put a huge dent in your financial obligations.
Do Physical Therapists need Malpractice insurance?
Yes. Since you deal with a person's physical well-being most of the time, a small injury could lead to a lawsuit that could lead to heavy payouts for your client. Physical therapists are at risk of a potential malpractice suit. That is why you need a physical therapy Malpractice Insurance to ensure full protection to your practice.