Focus your energy on your patients
Une couverture personnalisée à un tarif très compétitif
More and more Canadians are turning to alternative medicine. Insurance companies now agree to reimburse certain alternative medicine costs if the practitioner is a member of a professional association and holds professional liability insurance (errors and omissions).
We cover all of your activities under one policy. We insure the civil liability of your company and its assets. All at a rate suited to self-employed alternative medicine practitioners.
La Turquoise has been protecting the occupational risks associated with alternative medicine for more than 20 years. Our products and our quality-conscious, fast service are available in every province in Canada.
Program benefits
-
A single policy for all your activities
-
Competitive rates to cover the civil liability and assets of your business
-
Coverage available in every Canadian province
-
Our professional, fast service, based on the expertise of more than 20 years’ insuring alternative medicine practitioners
Why you should take out professional liability insurance
The consequences of an incorrectly performed procedure can be serious. You need to manage this risk properly. Consider the case of a therapist who was protected by his civil liability insurance after performing an unsuccessful procedure.
A client sued her osteopath for the loss of a limb. After experiencing severe pain in her arms and shoulders, the client regularly visited an osteopath for pain relief. After one of the visits, the client woke up the next day and found that her hand had turned black. She immediately went to the hospital where, after several tests, the doctors decided to amputate the limb following the incorrect treatment performed by the osteopath. In this particular case, doctors had only a six-hour window after the osteopath’s manipulations to correct the situation.
The client sued the practitioner and, after five years of litigation, the professional liability insurer had to pay $400,000 in damages to the client plus $135,000 in legal costs.
Don't forget to inform your patients about the risks involved in your procedures.
Following a visit to an alternative medicine practitioner, a client began to suffer from pain, numbness, disorientation and vision problems. The client had to go to the hospital because his health did not improve. Doctors eventually diagnosed a stroke as a result of a torn vertebral artery.
According to the client, the practitioner’s manipulations of his neck were the cause. The client said that he was not advised that there was a risk of a torn artery and/or stroke. He said that he suffered after-effects following the procedure and sought compensation for physical and moral injury.
The case did not go to court, but after three years of discussion, the professional liability insurer ended up paying $20,000 in compensation and $24,000 in legal fees.
Some alternative medicines can produce bad reactions in some of your clients, who may then seek compensation.
A client signed up for a five-day treatment at an alternative medicine practitioner's healthcare centre. The treatment included therapeutic follow-up, colonic irrigation, walks in the woods, workshops on food and health, a liquid diet and the ingestion of natural products.
On the third day of the treatment, the client seemed disoriented and incoherent. She suffered from headaches, nausea, vomiting and memory loss. During a massage session, she had convulsions. The practitioner contacted the client's spouse to come and pick her up.
Upon arrival at the house, the spouse immediately called an ambulance. The client was in hospital for eight days. After several tests, the doctors concluded that the client suffered from "hyponatremia induced by a liquid diet and colonic irrigation".
The client claimed $14,000 from the practitioner for temporary and permanent damage, loss of income due to hospitalization, and various other related costs, as well as damages and interest.
This case did not go to court because the client and the professional liability insurer came to an agreement on approximately $6,000 in compensation and $5,500 in legal costs.
You need to insure your premises and your equipment, as much as your healthcare treatments.
A therapist’s premises were flooded due to a broken toilet pipe in an adjacent business.
At the time of the flooding, the therapist's laser machine was on the floor for cleaning. The reception desk was also damaged. The therapist had to cancel her appointments for several days.
In order to minimize the damage, she had to rent a laser machine until she determined whether her own was repairable or if the insurance needed to replace it. She had to bring in specialists to dry out her premises and assess the damage.
After the assessment, it was agreed that the insurer should replace the equipment. But the therapist’s model was no longer sold in Quebec. She therefore bought a more sophisticated, new, machine, twice as expensive as her original equipment. The insurer paid for it, as well as the cost of repairing the reception desk and replacing the flooring. An agreement was also reached with the therapist to reimburse her for the operating loss caused by the water damage.
The total amount of the claim covered by the insurer exceeded $77,000.