Extended liability

Medical Protection membership grants the right to request indemnity in relation to your own clinical practice. However, as an owner or partner in a practice you may be responsible for liability arising from other elements of the business, for example:

• vicarious liability for the acts and omissions of other healthcare professionals or staff at your practice;
• liability for products that are sold at your practice;
• liability in relation to the safety of the practice environment; and
• liability for non-clinical matters such as taxes and the performance of contracts entered into by or on behalf of your practice.

It is important to understand that the subscription for an individual Medical Protection member is calculated on the basis of the risk represented by that member alone. In the interests of fairness across the membership as a whole, where you are exposed to additional liabilities (such as those listed above), you do not have the right request indemnity for matters beyond your own clinical practice, unless your membership grade is expressly extended to cover these. Note that Medical Protection offers corporate membership and other bespoke arrangements for members who require indemnity for the clinical negligence of their staff. Please contact your local membership office for further information.

If you are employed by the state, and treat patients in a state facility, then the state provides indemnity against claims arising from your professional practice.

State indemnity will only cover the financial consequences of a claim for clinical negligence. Its purpose is to ensure public patients are compensated if they suffer harm, rather than protect you or your professional interests.

However, it does not extend to assistance for:

• internal complaints and disciplinaries related to your clinical practice
• inquests
• Medical Council investigations
• criminal allegations arising from the provision of clinical care.

As a Medical Protection member you would however be entitled to request assistance in these circumstances.

We can also help members by advising them on how best to protect themselves in their professional practice, assisting in preparing and checking reports for the State Attorney and providing assistance with media relations to help protect their reputation.

Additional benefits include, but are not limited to, free communication skills and risk management workshops, verifiable CPD, emergency medicolegal advice available 24/7, and support and assistance for Good Samaritan acts.

Read our article to find out why discretionary indemnity and the flexibility it offers is important.

Membership offers support with complaints, disciplinary proceedings, inquests and criminal investigations arising from clinical practice, 24/7 medicolegal advice, risk prevention CPD and more. Find out more about your benefits.

Medical Protection is committed to ensuring that your subscription rate is reflective of the work you carry out. Read more 

Your membership offers comprehensive protection through advice, support and assistance with clinical negligence claims*, Medical Council matters, support with complaints, disciplinary proceedings, inquests and criminal investigations arising from clinical practice, 24/7 medicolegal advice, risk prevention, CPD and more.

Find out more about your benefits 

*for private practice members

For over 125 years we have focused exclusively on protecting healthcare professionals against allegations of clinical negligence, and have unparalleled insight into the risks you face over the span of your career, and beyond. We believe you should have a protection product that meets your full requirements in the long-term as well as the short-term. With our occurrence-based protection, there are no limits to the indemnity we can provide*, no excesses to pay and no need to make additional indemnity arrangements when you retire, end membership or cease practice. You should check the availability and affordability of run-off cover when comparing the costs of any insurance policy versus Medical Protection membership. Your membership is backed by the power of discretion, which means there are no small print or exclusions to worry about. Discretion allows us to respond to changes in medicine and the medicolegal environment, assisting members with emerging problems that may not have been foreseen at the time you took up membership.

*Indemnity limits apply to members in high-risk paediatrics and obstetrics. 

No, we can issue a duplicate certificate to you free of charge. Please email [email protected] to request a new certificate.

Read our article to find out what to do next.

If your scope of work has changed and you think you may be on the wrong grade please get contact by emailing [email protected] or call 800 616 7055 so that your membership can be updated. 

Please call our medicolegal advice line on 800 617 7055 (Available 24/7).

Please complete the online form to request sponsorship or request a speaker. You can do this here. At least four months notice is required to be involved in any activity. 

At Medical Protection we understand the vital role that humanitarian care plays worldwide, especially in times of crisis. That is why humanitarian protection is something we’ve offered for many years.

You can request protection for humanitarian work if…
• Your membership is current
• You have been in membership for a minimum of 6 months
• You are working for a recognised charity or humanitarian organisation
• You contact Medical Protection before you intend to travel
• You have met all of the destination country’s professional criteria
• Your intended work excludes the management of pregnancies 

In addition, you can request the benefit of membership relating to humanitarian work for up to 6 months in any 12-month membership period. This can be applied to shorter periods of travel, or for a single 6-month period.


Other things medical volunteers need to know

As a volunteer, you are always responsible for checking that you understand and follow the laws and regulations of the country where you will be volunteering, including any requirements for work permits or visas. You also need to understand and follow any professional obligations such as registration or licensing, and the rules about the type of indemnity you are required to have.

Members who have met all of a country’s professional criteria can request assistance from us. However, this is only available for matters brought within the member’s home territory.

The benefits of membership (including the right to request indemnity) do not extend to any matters arising from the management of a pregnancy under humanitarian care.

If you would like any further details about the humanitarian protection that we provide, please contact the Member Services team for more information.

We actively encourage members to contact us for advice to provide peace of mind and to help prevent a concern or problem escalating. Medical Protection does not use the number of requests for advice as part of its risk assessment of a member.

This includes determining their membership subscription. In exceptional cases, where a request for advice involves facts or circumstances of a highly unusual or unique nature it might trigger a general review of an individual’s risk profile.

However, we stress that this would be very unusual. So, if you want to discuss a medico-legal issue or need advice on how to prevent a concern or problem escalating, please do let us know - we are only a phone call away.

Those who are on obstetrics/gynaecology, paediatric and GPs on their current grade can request indemnity for undertaking the Harmony prenatal test provided members ensure:

• patients are adequately counselled and consented
• patients are appropriately followed up
• full records are maintained (including records of the counselling and consent, as well as follow up arrangements).

Yes. In the unlikely event that you are sued as a result of a Good Samaritan act, you can apply for assistance from Medical Protection, no matter where in the world the action is brought.

 

Medical Protection defines a Good Samaritan act as one in which medical assistance is given, free of charge, in a bona fide medical emergency upon which you may chance, in a personal as opposed to a professional capacity, eg, assisting a fellow spectator at an event.

For doctors, ignoring such a predicament is never an option. When called into action while off duty, you must remember to make a full clinical record after treatment.

You must assess your own competence in handling the situation – eg, you may be under the influence of alcohol – and proceed accordingly.

Only intervene if the situation is an emergency. Any situation that is beyond your competence may still benefit from your input, to a degree. For example, you can use your clinical skills to take a history, make an examination to reach a preliminary assessment, and give an indication of the likely differential diagnosis. You can also suggest options for the management of the situation pending arrival of support. 

We consider that a response to the GoodSAM App, provided it is in accordance with the GoodSAM App code of conduct, falls within our definition of a Good Samaritan Act.

Members who retire, take a career break or who otherwise stop practising medicine voluntarily - either temporarily or permanently (excluding holidays), can request to retain Medical Protection membership in the retired/deferred category.

As a retired or deferred member with occurrence-based protection, you pay no subscription, still receive the Medical Protection journal, Casebook, and our Annual Report and Accounts, and can apply for Medical Protection assistance with any medicolegal problems arising from a “Good Samaritan act”.

However, if you decide to leave Medical Protection, then you will not be entitled to any assistance in relation to a Good Samaritan act if the incident occurs after your membership has ended. You must also inform us before you resume practice, so that we can ensure you are placed in the correct category of membership.

Members with claims-made protection should contact us to find out how a break will affect their membership.

Medical Protection regards providing an expert opinion as an integral part of professional practice. As with all aspects of professional practice it is essential that you act within the limits of your own expertise.

Medical Protection has assisted many members with claims arising out of the provision of an expert opinion and considers these in the same way as any other claim in negligence against a member.

Please contact us to check that you are paying the correct subscription to reflect your medicolegal practice.

No, not at present. The main benefits of engaging with our educational programs are:

• enhanced risk management and prevention skills
• improved patient outcomes
• reduced likelihood of involvement with claims or complaints and the associated stress, worry and inconvenience they bring.

Medical Protection defines cosmetic/aesthetic procedures as those which have as their primary purpose the alteration of the non-pathological external appearance of a patient.

If you are not an accredited plastic surgeon and you are considering undertaking any cosmetic/aesthetic procedures, whether surgical or non-surgical, you must contact a membership adviser to discuss your plans in advance.

If you are concerned about any issue or incident which has occurred in your capacity as a doctor or other healthcare worker, we would encourage you to get in touch immediately by calling our medicolegal advice line. There is no stigma attached to seeking guidance or support, and we would rather you asked for help in time to avoid a problem instead of waiting and hoping for the best, only to find yourself in greater difficulties later. 

Medical Protection occurrence-based protection will respond to claims brought against you, even after your membership has ended and your subscription payment has ceased, as long as the alleged incident happened during the period of your Medical Protection membership and you were in the appropriate membership category at the time the incident occurred.

For Medical Protection claims-made protection, this would require you to purchase extended reporting benefits (ERBs) from Medical Protection, to enable you to report an incident you only became aware of after your claims-made protection membership ends. Alternatively, if you continue to practice after ceasing Medical Protection membership, you may be able to make arrangements with your new provider to allow you to report the incident to them.