Nursing Professional Claim Reports

Understanding Nurse Liability, 2006-2010: A Three-Part Approach

This three-part report covers professional liability claims, license protection claims and selected samples from the NSO 2011 Qualitative Nurse Work Profile Survey.

Highlights of the report include:

• Professional Liability Claims: Over $83 million was paid in indemnity (judgments and settlements) and expenses on behalf of nurses during the study period, realizing an average total incurred of $204,594 per claim.



• License Protection Claims: Fifty-seven percent of RNs who experienced a license defense paid claim worked in a hospital while 56% of LPN/LVNs worked in an aging services setting.



• Nurse Work Profile Survey: The number of claims significantly increased, the longer respondents worked as nurses. The highest percentage involved respondents who had worked more than 21 years as a nurse.

NSO 2011 Qualitative Nurse Work Profile Survey

This report includes the complete results from the NSO 2011 Qualitative Nurse Work Profile Survey. It was developed at the urging of the NSO Nurses Advisory Board and our professional nursing association partners.

The survey compares nurses who reported having a professional liability claim, with those who have not, on 23 factors. For example, age, level of education, years in practice and the effect of having a mentor or preceptor.

Risk Control Self-Assessment Checklist for Nurses

This checklist was developed to help assist nurses in managing their risks. Included are CNA's 'claim tips' for reducing your exposure to medical malpractice lawsuits as well as the steps to take if you believe you may be involved in a legal matter.

The checklist is included in Understanding Nurse Liability, 2006-2010: A Three-part Approach and is provided here as a separate document for those wishing to print it out for their own use.

Understanding Nurse Practitioner Liability: CNA HealthPro Nurse Practitioner Claims Analysis 1998-2008, Risk Control Strategies and Highlights of the 2009 NSO Survey

Did you know that medical malpractice claims against nurse practitioners cost an average $189,300, plus another $42,900 for legal expenses? Or that nurse practitioners without prescriptive authority appear twice as likely to have a professional liability claim as those with prescriptive authority? These are only two of the informational insights you'll find in this collaborative professional liability claim study by NSO and CNA.

The study is broken into three sections:

• Statistical data from CNA's claims files on medical malpractice lawsuits brought against nurse practitioners between 1998-2008.



• Risk management recommendations designed to help nurse practitioners reduce their professional liability exposures.



• Highlights of a survey conducted among 3,037 nurse practitioners, including 287 nurse practitioners involved in malpractice claims.