Any health care agency runs the risk of being sued for liability at some point during the run of their business. This is because health care workers are not only interacting with patients and clients, but they’re interacting with them on an intimate level: helping them get in and out of bed, assisting them with walking or going to the bathroom, and taking care of injuries. In the event that something goes wrong or a medical practitioner is negligent, it’s probable for a patient to sue for liability.
This is why it’s essential for a home healthcare businesses to have home healthcare business insurance of many types including home health workers compensation insurance, home health agency insurance, and home care liability insurance. This is especially the case as home health care businesses are beginning to grow in popularity. It’s important now more than ever while a home healthcare agency is still young to protect your business with home healthcare business insurance.
If you’re still questioning whether or not to get home healthcare business insurance for your business, here are some of the most common liability claims brought up against medical practitioners in the past:
- Falls
When a patient is not being properly taken care of while they are having difficulty walking or standing they could very well suffer from a fall, which could lead to additional injury. In this event, a patient could sue for liability as the medical assistants or other health care workers did not have a secure grip on the patient or were being negligent in the process of transporting the patient.
Additionally, a patient can sue for liability if a home health care worker drops a patient while they are being transported to a vehicle or are being lifted from one surface to another such as a bed. If the patient suffers from injury due to the event, the employee could be sued for negligence in the matter. - Burns
It is essential for the home health care worker to take great care in their work as they are in an unfamiliar environment and are more likely to suffer from injury on the job than they would while working in a traditional hospital or doctor’s office. However, while home health workers likely to suffer from injury, so are their patients.
This is particularly the case with older patients who may not have a quick reaction time. Of those who have suffered from burns in economically developed countries such as the United States, geriatric burns make up 20%. This is because burn injuries are more likely to be severe in older patients as they have a diminished reaction time that results in stronger burns. While caring for geriatric patients in the home, it is essential that home health professionals pay close attention to their patients such that they do not suffer from burns while they are under the employee’s care. - Incorrect treatment
If a patient was treated incorrectly and the matter was not addressed by a medical professional, the business may be sued for liability. Therefore, when diagnosing or treating patients in a home environment it is important to take into consideration any viable cause to the illness or injury. Additionally, all allergies must be detected so the patient does not suffer from an allergic reaction while under medical care, which may be argued as the fault of the medical practitioner for not taking greater care.
Lawsuits regarding medical liability can be a long and expensive process, which is why it’s essential for a home health business to have home healthcare liability insurance in addition to home healthcare business insurance. While it is important to keep your clients safe, accidents do occur and your business may be blamed for those accidents. As a result, to keep your business safe from litigation, be sure to file for home health care liability insurance.