Immunity helps good deeds go unpunished

Many states are providing physician volunteers some level of protection against civil liability.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Nov. 12, 2001.

In Nebraska, physician leaders were unable to get legislation to protect volunteers against medical liability so they turned to the insurance industry for help in crafting a plan that would allow more doctors to donate their services.

While working physicians had coverage from their practices, the Nebraska Medical Assn. sought protection for retired doctors who no longer carried liability insurance. About eight years ago, the association hashed out an agreement with insurers that called for retired doctors to pay a $100 annual premium for coverage of their volunteer efforts.

"We tried to work around the fact we didn't have a [state] law," said Sandy Johnson, executive vice president of the medical society.

Without protection, "nobody wanted to take a chance," said Jerry Ries, MD, a retired orthopedic surgeon in Omaha who volunteers at a homeless shelter.

Reducing exposure to medical liability through state laws and other efforts means physicians are more willing to volunteer at clinics, shelters and for service agencies, physicians said. However, doctors still have concerns about being sued. Charitable immunity laws make it harder for that to happen, but there is no guarantee volunteers won't face litigation.

"It would be misleading for physicians to think that they can't be sued," said Paul A. Hattis, MD, MPH, an attorney and consultant for Volunteers in Health Care, a nonprofit national resource center for organizations and clinicians caring for the uninsured. "My hope is the laws on the books offer some comfort and protection for doctors who want to come forward to volunteer." [...]