Medical malpractice insurance protection is key – SIC
All medical professionals must have medical malpractice insurance protection, Mr. Faris Atrickie, General Manager, Technical Operations, SIC Insurance Company, PLC has stated.
“Medical malpractice insurance is a specialized type of professional liability insurance that covers physician liability arising from disputed services that result in a patient’s injury,” he explained.
He added that there was the need for medical professionals to seek insurance coverage for themselves as individuals, as well as for their business entities saying the insurance cover a range of expenses associated with defending and settling malpractice suits; it also pays damages if found liable.
Mr. Atrickie who was speaking at the 13th edition of the “Tema Regional Office of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Stakeholder Engagement and Workers’ Appreciation Day,” tasked professional bodies to study the new Insurance Act, Act 1061 of 2021, especially Section 216.
He stressed that the medical institution needs to have professional indemnity cover, “medical institutions needed to have professional indemnity power so that if by accident their clients suffer death or injury, the insurance could take care of it.”
He said that Professional Indemnity had become compulsory through the new insurance Act, which replaced Act 726 of 2006.
“Now this new insurance act made it compulsory for any employer to ensure that every employee should come under the professional indemnity cover and an employer that fails to do so, if found guilty will be fined or made to serve a term of imprisonment or both,” he said.
Mr. Atrickie noted that there had been a lot of cases recorded regarding loss of life as a result of the negligence of the medical practitioners hence the need for professional indemnity insurance.
He expressed concern about the low patronage of that insurance even though the Act made it compulsory for all professional Institutions.
He said implementation of the act had been a major concern and called on the media to raise awareness about the insurance packages for the citizenry to be aware and be able to exercise their rights when the need comes.
Mr. Atrickie said the Insurance Act 2021 stated that “An employer of a professional person specified in the second schedule shall insure and maintain an insurance under any qualifying professional indemnity with a licensed insurer for the professional persons”
Contributing to the discussion, Mrs. Cynthia Kwarteng Tufuor, Tema Area Manager of SIC reiterated that motorbikes and tricycles: “Okada,” “Pragia,” and “Aboboyaa” are not insured for commercial transportation business and therefore cautioned the public against patronizing them.
This the SIC explained that the laws of Ghana made commercial usage of the means of transportation illegal and therefore not insured for commercial purposes, “you board commercial motorbike or tricycle at your own risk in case of an accident.”
She disclosed that even though the motorcycles may be insured as required by law, it did not cover commercial purposes.
Mrs Tufuor stated however that the insurance covered a rider who used it for personal purposes and not for commercial reasons, and therefore advised the public against their use.
Source: GNA