Many Doctors In Georgia Are Without Malpractice Insurance

Are you aware that there are over 2500 doctors in Georgia that do not carry malpractice insurance?  This can leave you, as a patient, with very little recourse if something goes wrong.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that dozens of underinsured doctors were disciplined by the state medical board for sexual misconduct, illegal deaths, illegal drug use, and other serious offenses. 

Medical and legal experts say that the fact that just under 8 percent of the licensed doctors in the state of Georgia are uninsured is worrisome.  “I know of no good way to understand that,” said Dr. Gerald Hickson, an authority on physician behavior who teaches at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  “I feel very strongly that it’s one of our professional duties to be prepared to do the right thing in the face of an adverse event.” (InsuranceJournal.com, 2014)

Doctors who practice without insurance bear the responsibility of compensating patients if something goes wrong.  That can put their assets at risk, but more, it can also leave patients with or their families with little in a costly case. 

The AJC went over the state medical board data from 2011.  Of more than 29,500 doctors in Georgia, 2,536 said that they did not carry malpractice insurance.  There were 3,000 that did not respond.  Of the 2,536 that don’t have malpractice insurance, the state board has sanctioned 113 of them for violating regulations, including nine on probation.

What is not known is the number of the uninsured doctors that are actually practicing medicine.  The newspaper has done some random checks and so far has found more than a dozen that are practicing medicine.

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Source:
Insurance Journal