Is a doctors insurance responsible to pay for his mistake?

When you consider medical malpractice: is your doctor responsible? This is an important question. If a doctor was negligent and hurt you, you likely want to recover your damages from the physician. These damages include damages for pain and suffering, medical bills to treat the injury, lost wages, and even payment designed to compensate you for all you went through if you suffered for emotional distress. These costs can add up quickly and it can be hard to know who exactly will have to pay them.

In the vast majority of cases, it is the doctor's medical malpractice insurance carrier who ends up footing the bill in a malpractice case. Since you probably have car insurance with liability for your home and auto insurance with liability for your car, you are probably familiar with the importance of insurance and with the way it works. You buy insurance to assume risk you can't handle on your own. The doctor does the same with his malpractice insurance- he buys a policy to protect him from a very large lawsuit.

Your doctor is accountable, though, for what he did. His malpractice insurance may go up if he faces a claim. In some cases, his insurance carrier may even drop him (especially if he has too many claims) and he may not be able to find a new one--- this would leave him either unable to practice medicine or taking a big risk.

If you find yourself dealing with medical malpractice, you need a lawyer. Your attorney can answer any questions about your case and can help you to take any legal steps necessary to make sure your doctor pays for what he did.