“Ask eQuoteMD, with Tim Ryan.” A medical malpractice insurance video blog question and answer session to help physicians have a better understanding of their coverage options. eQuoteMD provides quality solutions for medical malpractice insurance to doctors, surgeons, clinics, hospitals and facilities across the United States.
Video Transcript –
Tim Ryan: Hello and welcome to eQuoteMD’s medical malpractice insurance video blog. I’m Tim Ryan and I’m here to answer your medical malpractice insurance questions. Recently, I was asked to explain to the concept of the hammer clause. For a little background, the hammer clause has to do with the consent to settle option that may or may not be in your medical malpractice insurance policy. The consent to settle option essentially gives the doctor the final say on whether or not the insurance company can settle a claim or if the claim has to go to court.
The hammer clause comes into this picture after a doctor chooses not to settle a claim and sends that claim to court. The hammer clause essentially states that if a doctor decides not to settle a claim; that claim will go to court and if that doctor is found liable and a payout is needed towards the plaintiff, the doctor will actually have to payout any amount of money above what the original settlement offer was going to be from the medical malpractice insurance company.
In other words, the doctor can be on the hook if he/she is found liable after deciding not to settle a claim and therefore, can out of his/her own pocket, have to pay the plaintiff. It is important to remember that the hammer clause is not in every medical malpractice insurance policy, but it is important to look for and to know whether or not this is or is not in your policy.
Again, I’m Tim Ryan here to answer your medical malpractice insurance questions. Have a great day and we’ll talk to you soon.
If you would like to have one of your questions answered by Tim Ryan, please follow @eQuoteMD on Twitter and send us a “tweet” with your question. You can follow Tim Ryan on Twitter as well @TheMedMalMan.
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