Insurance Defense Attorneys
Attorney Advertising and Insurance Defense Attorneys
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Insurance defense attorneys will advertise for clients the same as trial attorneys, but their targeted audiences are insurance companies, not injured plaintiffs. An insurance defense attorney is hired by a hospital’s insurance company to protect a hospital’s financial interests when claims for malpractice arise. As a CNM/CM hospital employee named in a claim for malpractice, you will eventually become acquainted with this individual.
Although many midwifery/medical defendants may consider this person to be “their” lawyer, that is not really the case. It is important to remember that he or she is, almost exclusively, assigned to defend the interests of the hospital’s insurance company, not you, personally. Defense advocacy directed toward your role and interests in the case must be consistent with the interests of the hospital corporation, first. Try to remember that the primary client is the hospital, not little you.
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Are These People EvenYour Advocates ?
While these types of attorneys will counsel you, defend your deposition, represent you at trial, and conduct other duties as your counsel, your personal interests and protections are not their primary concern. Some hospital insurance companies employ a series of “captive” law firms to defend the interests of client hospitals and their employees, when required. In some instances, the lawyer can be an actual employee of the insurance company, yet operating out of his or her own independent law firm.
If they want to remain on the insurance company’s payroll or captive list, assigned defense attorneys will, usually, allow the hiring/retaining insurance company to manage and control almost all matters of your malpractice defense. In order to maintain lucrative employment arrangements with the insurance companies, defense attorneys will always defer to the mandates, whims, and legal imaginings of the company’s insurance adjuster. Since the insurance company is your attorney’s benefactor/employer, many decisions about your defense in the lawsuit will be made by the adjuster. Although insurance adjusters are not usually legal professionals, they are likely to wield enormous power over the handling of your case. Again, insurance defense attorneys chosen for your case will, necessarily, defer to the company’s adjuster on most matters of your defense.
As individuals of unknown background and education, insurance adjusters enjoy the ability to completely manage the attorneys assigned to your case. Since so many attorneys have no basic understanding of nurse-midwifery practice, a hospital insurance adjuster will not necessarily know much more. Although your negligence case may turn out well for you with this type of representation, some defendants have found it safer, and more conducive to peace-of-mind, to hire additional outside personal counsel to participate in their defense litigation. This is allowed. Though well worth it, the cost can be prohibitive.
Considering the Wisdom of Personal Counsel
If you can afford it, a private malpractice policy can offer added security for you in addition to what an employer hospital can provide, particularly if you are working for an academic institution that has an incorporated medical student/residency teaching program. In any case, your own personal counsel can diligently represent your interests with integrity, disconnected from the agendas of the hospital corporation and its insurance carrier. If you are employed by a self-insured institution, it may be a good idea to inquire about your coverage and who might be responsible for legal representation, should you require it.
For CNMs/CMs who have purchased their own malpractice policies, you will not have to bear the representation issues experienced by your hospital-employee colleagues.
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