Features of medical professional liability insurance

Abstract

This article analyzes the features of professional liability of a medical worker as a type of property liability and determines its specifics,taking into account the experience of Italian legislation. Professional liability is the property liability of specialists of various professions, whoseinsufficient qualifications, errors and omissions as a result of imprudence or negligence can cause damage to the client. Professional responsibility isinextricably linked with the categories «profession», the personality of a specific natural person who possesses the necessary special knowledge andqualifications, experience and business qualities and characteristics. Professional liability insurance of a medical worker is intended for insurance protection of doctors against adverse financial consequences arising from legal harassment, detection by a third party (victim) in connection with the occurrence of damage (damages) caused as a result of an error, negligence committed by a doctor in the process of execution him of medicalprofessional duties. Taking into account that in Ukraine, when a medical worker causes damage, we refer to Part 1 of Article 1172 of the Civil Codeof Ukraine, which states that a legal entity or an individual shall compensate for the damage caused by their employee during the performance of his work (official) duties. Problems arise with proving the guilt of a medical worker. Of course, it is necessary to prove the composition of the offense, however, it has long been known that the courts decide this issue at their discretion, and the amounts of compensation for material and especially moral damage are still ridiculous, but it is difficult to prove in the plane of cause and effect. We believe that a rather significant problem is that neither commercial organizations,nor state or communal enterprises consider it necessary to offer a compromise solution to the victims without a trial at all, because they are sure that the case will last a long time and in the worst case the compensation will be insignificant or not at all will be assigned. It is also a problemthat in most medical cases, witnesses are medical workers who have been connected by employment relations with the defendant, or are even friendswith the medical worker. In particular, according to Art. 1172 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, in most cases, the medical institution is responsible for the material and moral damage caused by the medical worker as a result of failure to perform his duties to the patient. Thus, the situation in Ukraine willnot change without the introduction of medical worker liability insurance.