Insurance

It's extremely important that you protect your dental business from lawsuits. Lawsuits are a normal fear in the hearts of those who work in the healthcare field, and dentists are no exception. Dentists are typically worried about lawsuits that come in the form of malpractice, employee compensation, or general liability. All of these types of suits can be primarily safeguarded through good practice and insurance.

However, some of the most popular lawsuits of the last few years revolve around things that are not necessarily covered by any type of insurance. So learning to protect yourself from a variety of lawsuits has become a necessary component of running your dental business.

Here are some of the threats to those in the dental field and tips for protecting your dental business from these lawsuits.

Employment Compliance Protection
In recent years there has been a dramatic rise in businesses of all type losing money and lawsuits in the form of employee discrimination cases. Almost all forms of discrimination lawsuits are on the rise from sexual harassment suits to age discrimination, which is up nearly 30%. These types of lawsuits are not necessarily covered by any of the typical liability insurances that you probably have for your dental business. In order to protect yourself and your practice from these types of lawsuits you need to be extra savvy about the law and practice some techniques to protect yourself. Check with your insurance provider to see what your coverage is, and learn the laws for your state.

At-Will Employment Laws
Many dentists believe that at-will laws will protect their dental business should they choose to hire or fire a member of their dental staff. However, these notions are far outdated and often superseded by more modern and politically correct laws aimed at protecting employees.

One way to protect yourself and your dental business from this issue is to be very careful about what you say to your staff and prospective staff. And be even more careful about what you put into writing. Many employee discrimination lawsuits are won by the prosecution thanks to poorly written employee manuals, vaguely implied contracts, and job terms such as "career employee" or "tenure". It is important that you are careful about writing anything down or implying anything that may come back to haunt you. At-will laws are very unlikely to protect you from a hiring or firing practice that may be deemed unfair.

Arbitration
Arbitration, which keeps disputes out of court and instead has them mediated by an unbiased third party, was designed to protect your dental business in many ways. Many dentists have their dental employees, and sometimes their patients, sign arbitration agreements so that any legal issues affecting your dental business will not be brought to court. This helps to protect your practice from a bad public showing. However, not all arbitration is as air tight as it once was. For one thing, many of the outlets that employees go through when they have been discriminated against can still land you in court, simply because the particular outlet is not subjected to the same agreement that their client - your staff member - may have with your dental business.

In general it is vital that you make sure your dental employee handbook is clear, up to par with all laws, and legally binding. Have a lawyer look over anything you sign or have put into writing where you employees and even your patients are involved. This, as well as always following best practices and using your better judgment, are the best ways to protect yourself and your dental business from lawsuits.