As we discussed in my previous article on employee lawsuit exposure, employment-related lawsuits are one of the biggest threats facing all employers today, including medical practices. In fact, the average small business in America is five times more likely to face a lawsuit by an employee than for any other reason!

The liability here is steep and onerous, as employers often forget that they are responsible for their own interactions with employees (employment practices), the employees’ interactions with each other (work environment) and the vicarious actions of employees as they affect the public (respondeat superior).

A second universal, yet commonly overlooked, exposure is patient records and information based or “cyber liability.” By now you’ve been inundated with ads, articles and warnings on this topic, but what most of those updates that focus on the technical precautions and statutory liability issues have not addressed is what you can do protect your practice against such a breach when it actually occurs.

Fortunately, in addition to all the work and thought you’ve put into addressing these issues proactively with tools like employment manuals, dispute-resolution policies, and IT security protocols, there is a backup plan that can help avoid financial disaster when the unimaginable actually happens: Employment Practices Liability and Cyber Liability Insurance policies.