Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

It has happened to most of us. I just wonder what liability ICs have regarding this. nm

Posted By: That is, if it isn't caught but ends up in cour on 2009-06-24
In Reply to: Please tell me I am not alone. Just got a report back where I made a MAJOR mistake. (sm) - NN




Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

no liability on IC's because MT's dont' have liability
-- the docs do. I have yet to hear of an MT in court because of what she transcribed...so don't worry about the liability. Big panty wadder coming from insurance companies.
Liability
What company is this for?
What about liability???

Found a hard working young mom who desperately needs income.  Told her I'd pay her $12/hr to help me get my home spring cleaned.  But, I wonder about liability should she or her son (she needs to bring her 3 yr-old son with her) get hurt on my property.  Or, heaven forbid, she stoops to the low road and scams me.  I do not know her well and she seems relatively honest but I am paranoid.


Should I have her sign a waiver???


ESL's a liability?
Imagine if the messed-up phrase had been directly linked to some life-or-death decision, or an allergy to medication, peanuts, or whatever. Makes me wonder if hospitals & clinics have ever thought about the possibility legal trouble an ESL doctor can cause by not being able to speak clearly.
ICs and Liability
Does anybody know how liability is handled if a transcription mistake causes harm to a patient if the Transcriptionist is an "Independent Contractor?"

Is liability insurance one of the first things an IC must purchase? Does the MTSOs customer who hired the MTSO as an IC think it's a good idea to SUBcontract the transcription work to a subcontractor who may or may not be insured?

Speaking of ICs...I found the following link on the U. S. Department of Labor's website most interesting:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs13.pdf

It seems that a lot of transcription companies are illegally viewing employees as "independent contractors" when the criteria for such are not being met.

For example, if you hire an INDEPENDENT contractor to remodel your house, the contractor presents YOU with the contract, not the other way around. (Hint: The one who presents the contract must be the contractor!) The contractor presents you with the bill when the work is finished; you don't tell him what your "hourly rate" is.

You meet with him and come to an agreement as to price, what work you want done, and other things that both of you agree on.

However, you do NOT tell the contractor what tools they will use, what shifts they will work, or what equipment they will use to do the job. You can't say things like "I don't like DeWalt power tools. Go out and buy all Makita power tools if you're going to work on MY house."

Read what the U.S. Department of Labor says about Independent Contractors and how narrow that scope really is. Then, the next time a company hires you as an "independent contractor," act like it. Present them with YOUR contract and tell them what YOUR rate is. If they start talking about their cpl rate, then they're an employer, not your "customer." Remember, REAL ICs are the ones that bill for their work.
Virtually no liability as an MT...sm
you never hear about transcriptionists getting sued. You could just increase your homeowner's coverage to a 1 mil liability coverage - which would give you 1 mil liability for everything, not just getting sued as an MT. But I don't carry it and I don't know anyone who does. I have a small service and even when I sign contracts with hospitals that require vendors to carry insurance, they just write a line through that clause.
Liability Insurance
I carry a $1 million umbrella policy that covers basically anything that happens at my home or in my car, except weather and acts of God.  This policy costs me $213 per year and I feel that it is well worth it.
somebody please help me liability insurance
i have a job offer that requires liability insurance.  company is accuscribe.  i have no idea where to go to get this insurance or how much it costs.  i am really confused.  somebody, please help me!
E & O Liability Insurance
E & O Liability insurance with AAMT runs $300 per year.
Do most IC's buy liability insurance?

I cannot afford to buy this insurance. Am I jeopradizing my home, etc. 


I keep wondering if this career is worth it.  I seem to put in so many long hours and do not get paid what I really put into it.  On the other hand, I do get that freedom of completing the work when I choose and whether it is in my pj's or not. 


Just wondering. 


Not what I understand -- tax liability
It doesn't matter whether you get a refund it is what your tax liability is, I think you have to have had a liability of over the amount, or paid at least that much as taxes for the refund.  If someone does not have enough withheld but still pays over $800 a year in taxes, they should get something.  But if your tax liability goes down to zero, and you get EVERYTHING back that you have paid in plus more, then I do not think you would get anything.  But again, I am no expert but what I heard is that you had to have paid at least that amount into as taxes after filing. 
Oops, liability is his.
x
E&O Liability insurance
I realize many of us think we do not need this insurance.  Unfortunately, a local area hospital thinks I do to work for them.  Someone had told me they got this through their home owners policy.  Any ideas on how to do that?  I'm not a member of AAMT.  I checked into it before, and it was rather expensive buying it outright from an insurance company.  Thanks.  I need to find more work and, unfortunately, this is what this hospital requires. 
That's not true. You do not need liability insurance SM

I went through a similar situation not too long ago.  My lawyer informed me that I do not need this insurance.  The dictating physician is responsible for the content of the dictated file and if he/she fails to read it/correct mistakes before signing off - he/she is the one that buys the farm, not the transcriptionist. 


In other words, error and omission insurance is a crock. 


Professional Liability INsurance?

Does anyone have this through AAMT?  If so, how much did you pay for it?  If not,  are there other options out there?   I'm looking into errors and omissions and I read about this, and think it would probably be just what I am looking for, but I am curious about the price before I pay for an AAMT membership! Thanks.


I was deposed regarding a liability case

Patient only had a diagnostic test done where I worked.  Family claimed it was from an accident.  Insurance company bucked it saying it was congenital.  My employer had to sue the family for nonpayment and because of that, the family's lawyer got a subpeona to have a disposition.  I wasn't upset because I knew I had nothing to offer.  The family's lawyer arranged to have it done where I worked (I was in charge of records Quality Assurance and for sending accounts to collections).  The family's lawyer asked his mundane questions.  The insurance company's lawyer kept trying to get me to say the ordering doctor ordered an unnecessary test.  He finally asked me directly if I thought it was an unnecessary test.  I looked him straight in the eyes and told him that I was not qualified to answer that as I did not have a medical degree and had no qualfication to state any test, procedure, etc., was every medically necessary.  If he wanted a medical opinion, he would have to pay someone who was qualified to answer the question.  He turned red and ended the whole thing.


What a total waste of time. 


Liability Insurance Rates? Does
anyone have a rough guesstimate of how much this could run an IC? I have been to various websites and got to an actual policy application form, but they only specify a cost of around $84 to $100, but don't say if that's monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. Anyone have an idea? Thanks!
Yes, sorry, the errors and omissions liability
insurance. I have not heard of it before, but there is a company recommended on company board and they require all IC's to have this type of insurance plan within 30 days of hire. The policy was very evasive to me, and I could only see the figure of $84, which I am guessing now might even be weekly? I think I'll forget about that company...
Do any of you ICs out there carry your own liability insurance if
you are working for an MTSO?  I do not carry this insurance and was looking for what you all can advise me.  Thanks.
Does anyone have liability insurance? What can you tell me about it? Wondering if I (am IC) need i

x


General Liability for Independent Contractors

I have just started a position for a company, and they require that I hold general liability insurance, but am a little lost as far as how to obtain that!  Just wondering if anyone had any pointers for me. 


 


Thank you in advance! :-)


who will provide IC liability insurance when state farm does not?
I want to be an IC, but in calling my insurance company they do not cover liability insurance for anything to do with medical......Does anyone know who I could contact?
That happened to me, too.

I tried two different nationals and was bounced around from account to account on both of them.  One account would run out of work, the equipment would go down, or they needed help on another account.  Each account had pools of 100-500 doctors, so it was just ridiculous.  I couldn't use my expander hardly at all.  I couldn't make decent line counts because I could barely keep the account specs straight.  Then they'd dump me off QA in less than a week and start me on another account.


That's when I made the decision to either get out of MT entirely or only do it on my terms.  I'm working to make as much money as I can in as little time possible.  I'm not here to be a goody, goody, "go to" Girl Scout saving the supervisors' butts from staffing problems and elapsed TAT.  They didn't offer incentive or differential for taking on over and above.  Why should my paycheck suffer because they under or overstaff?


Anyway, I found my fit.  They scratch my back, so I'm very willing to scratch their backs.


what happened with them?
Curious.
has this happened to you?

I just started at a hospital, hospital work is new to me, but they're giving me a week to get my line count up to 160 lines an hour.  I've been there 60 days. My question is what company is good that trains you on-line that will help place you also with a company on-line.  I just need help learning hospital reports. I've been typing clinic for 7 years.  I think I'll lose this job.  I can't believe it!  Thanks for your help.


 


 


has this happened to you?
Thanks for your encouragement. I have a week left before they decide if they're keeping me. My insurance starts on the 1st of August. I've never gotten on my knees and pleaded for my job before but at the cost of insurance these days, I'll make sure I'm wearing long pants that day!
That's sad and I'm sorry that it happened.
It is a shame when parents cannot try to teach their children right and wrong in a way that is not harmful to them without fear of having the "book thrown at you" and being suspected of, or worse yet, accused of child abuse. There are so many children now who are abused and yet the abusers get away with it on some insane technicality. Why can't the system go after them and leave a mother alone who is simply trying to teach her child not to use profanities and vulgarities?
I also wish this had never happened, as I was
really looking forward to working for TransTech.  They have a lot to offer and Debbie Hood is a great trainer and would probably make an excellent supervisor.  However, tech support is a very important aspect of a company to me, as they literally hold your paycheck in their hands when you are experiencing technical problems.  I am certain the problem here was that I chose to use my own computer rather than the company computer and this caused more work/problems for the tech.  Had I used their computer, I would be working for them right now.  When the foot pedal they sent did not work, he instructed me to call dictaphone for assistance, rather than trying to work on the problem himself.  A question for you, Dano -- Do you use TransTech's computer or your own?
That's what happened here with (sm)
Camille, too, a group throwing a "hurricane party."  They all died when the apartment complex blew away.
No, actually what happened was
the hook that her MQ chapstick was on got attached to the lawchair. She had it on her back pocket.
Never happened to me before
in my many years here. In August we always counted on the work slowing down a little bit as that seems to be the vacation month for much of my account - but - we never had the company do a big hire just before this occurred in July as was done to us this year. July is when our doctors generally tried to catch up before going away and bombared us with work, so if it ran a tad out of TAT (to use the current phrase for it), it didn't matter to anyone client or management. It was called being reasonable and practical.
Sorry that happened to you. :( But

they need the reports in the charts. Were you hired to be "trained" or to work?


Feedback is great, it's how we all learn. But that's not the purpose of having you there - the purpose is to get the work done.


I promise, having been on both sides of the fence, MTSO and client, that it was not one bad report that got you tossed. It was enough of them that they couldn't have it happen again - and it may not have all been your reports, remember.


Again, sorry this happened to you, but yes, it IS your fault, not that you could help it. I'm sure you did the best work you could, with your limited experience. Chin up, there are other places out there. Just learn from what happened.


Happened to me.
I took a pregnancy test and it said negitive. I took one a week later and there was a very light line (almost invisable). I went to the clinic and got a test there, which was positive. I would definatly go to your doctor and get a test.
What happened to me...sm
I thought I had the flu...had only been off BC for 2 months after doc told me it could take a year to become pregnant and we wanted kids sooner rather than later and it was flu season and it was a hard one that year. Thought nothing of it but it got worse and worse and everyone got over it but me after a couple of weeks. My now hubby suggested being preggers, I laughed as were planning our wedding. After 2 more weeks of being sick did a test, negative..after another week went to the doc and nope, not preggers...another week passes, another test done by them and suddenly I am almost 6 weeks pregnant. I left that office in such shock you could not beleive it! The chalked it up to first pregnancy and it just took me longer to build up enough hormone to test positive and in the middle of flu season, being that sick really didn't mean much at all when your periods were never all that regular to begin with. Soooo, you could be or might not be. See a doc, if their test is negative and still have doubts a week later, go back for a blood test.
oh yes it happened to me...
1st 3 tests neg and the last 4 positive. I had been on depo shots for about 7-8 yrs and they said that it would take at least 2-3 months before I might start to ovulate, If I'm lucky.  I wasn't having periods but I knew something was up.  the only symptom I had was severe sensitivity to smells.  I had to leave the video store because of someones perfume. went straight to the store and bought tests and they were negative. (took 1 that night, then again 2 weeks later, then 1 wk later) all 3 neg but I still felt like something wasn't right, but like you said, you start to think you're crazy.  a while after that I was going to a party and thought "what the he**, just to be superduper safe before drinking, try again".  bamm - positive.  I was in shock so I took another, and another. I was just over 3 months pregnant.   the tests were all from the same box (I bought the most you can get expecting to have fertility problems from being on the shot so long).... the doc office couldn't explain first how I got so lucky considering my history and second why it took so long for the hormones to show up.    wait a while and take another!
If it really happened she would have said something.
She can't prove anything so why bother? It never happened.
Happened to me.... sm

and I definitely lost 50% of my work to EMR.  Also, they will be adding VR to this system in 6 months, which reduces my serve to just editing.  What they want to pay for editing, I can go to work at McDonald's and make more an hour....


 


 


 


Here is how it happened for me.
I sent out flyers and brochures with business cards. I did not really have a lot of luck with that. What finally landed me my first client was just by calling local MD offices. I got a lot of "No we don't need a transcriptionist" before I actually got someone who told me that their office did not need one, but they knew of an office who did. I would start by calling your own family doctor and asking them. If not luck there, just pick up the yellow pages and call. As far as the system, a lot of local offices still use tapes and that may be a good way to start on your own. Does not require a huge investment on your part, other than a transcribing unit, which you can usually buy at a local office supply store, such as Staples. Good luck to you. It is difficult getting started, but once you land one client, and if that clients likes your work, word gets around fast. I started with one client and 3 years later I have multiple accounts and now 8 transcriptionists working with me.
It happened to me . . .
I was really stupid and one year I didn't file. They really get you for that. I didn't hear anything from them for years and the penalites and interest just piled up. It took years but I'm finally done.
so sorry this happened to you
but there are other causes for pulmonary hypertension, and if phentermine caused pulmonary hypertension they would have taken it off the market just as they did Pondimin.
This happened to me.
He was able to look at my op note to confirm no nerves were cut. He said that they were stretched/damaged from the procedure and to give them time to heal. He said that since nerve cells grow so slowly, it could take up to a year for the feeling to return. I took several months, but I eventually got all my feeling back.
Same happened to me . . .
Same thing happened to me when I left an MT job after 10 years. The boss finally came up 15 minutes before I left and wished me well in a wooden tone. I figured they were angry because I had been there the longest, she counted on me a lot, I filled in when she wasn't there, and she had to train someone else. Plus . . . I was going home to work for an MTSO, and some of the other staff weren't too thrilled that I had this opportunity, so they didn't say much either. It was rather heartbreaking, but I soon got over it after I began working at home and loving it! I emphathize with you, though. It still does hurt, especially after all this time you have given. Maybe you will be pleasantly surprised before you leave! Gussie
That just happened with me....the doc was a bit PO'd but - sm
he will live and he redictated the reports (7 of them). Something happened at the office, a glitch or his people....either way they ended up deleting them from the recorder in an effort to reset the recorder as it was doing weird things. They kind of glossed over it with him but he made a few comments in his dictation to me, definitely was not happy. But that was the first time that had happened ever....most likely because the usual girl who sent me the work was on vacation and the sub had no idea what she was doing, not good. Next time she goes on vacation I hope she trains the girl really well!
Know someone this happened to.
sometimes the doc accidentally switches folders on the recorder and it's there, just didn't get downloaded.
Yes, this happened to me and...
I am still trying to get back on my feet! In December, my sole client (a psych hospital) all of a sudden stopped sending me work, right at Christmastime, without notice or anything. This really hurt me at first, emotionally and financially, of course. Then, I got angry because it was like a slap in my face--not to mention a HUGE chunk out of my income because they were the only client I had at that time.

Because of this, I'll NEVER, EVER commit to a full-time IC position. I'll work for two or three on a part-time basis. I can't afford to play games with my livelihood, as I am the sole provider for my child and myself.

One would think that professionals, such as docs, would have the decency to give us a "heads-up" should he decide to go elsewhere for services so that an MT can make preparations to replace that that source of income. In fact, there should be some sort of contractual agreement that states if a doc decides to opt out of using our services, he should at least give us notice ahead of time.

Good luck in retaining more work!
That happened to me at sm
Transolutions. I finally left after trying for a year. By the time they finished with me, I felt more than inadequate. Now I have a position with a company that gives feedback without all the nitpicky stuff and the degrading remarks and I feel good about myself again. You can only take so much from a mean QA person.
I'm so sorry this has happened to you

I've been in this business for almost 30 years. Some things have changed over the years, but one has remained the same:  This profession attracts people with limited social skills who don't know how to communicate with others effectively.


I'm sure you weren't let go because of your age. That was a lame excuse he came up with to cover up the fact that he most likely owed a favor to someone and hired a friend of a friend as a favor and you had to go to make room for him/her.


It happens all the time, unfortunately. When you work a solitary job, live a solitary existence, and are clearly uncomfortable taking the bull by the horns and facing someone in person (thus having your replacement fire you instead of doing it himself) that's what happens. Cowards and social outcasts make up 99% of this profession - nature of the beast.


what happened to being able to
email other posters?  I see that option has been removed for some reason.  Does anyone know what happened? 
they don't know what happened yet...sm

Sept. 11, 2006, 10:15AM
Anna Nicole Smith's son, 20, dies in Bahamas




NASSAU, Bahamas -- The 20-year-old son of Anna Nicole Smith has been found dead in the Bahamas, where the former reality TV star and Playboy playmate gave birth to a baby girl days earlier.


Authorities had not determined what caused the death of Daniel Smith, whose body was found Sunday morning, said Robin Bonnema, a spokeswoman for Trimspa, the diet products company that has been endorsed by Smith. Bonnema had no other details, and calls to Smith's lawyer, Howard K. Stern of Santa Monica, Calif., were not immediately returned.






A statement on Smith's Web site said the son died suddenly.


"We have yet to learn the cause of death but do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor," the statement said. "Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being."


Walter Evans, a spokesman for the Royal Bahamian Police Force, would say only that the son of an undisclosed celebrity had been found in a room of the private Doctor's Hospital in Nassau.


Anna Nicole Smith, 38, gave birth to a healthy 6 pound, 9 ounce girl at the hospital on Thursday, her Web site said.


Her son had traveled to the Caribbean country "to share in the joy of his baby sister," the statement said. "Please do not make any press inquiries at this time so that Anna Nicole can grieve in peace."


Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year. Since then, she has feuded with Marshall's son, Pierce Marshall, over her entitlement to the tycoon's estate.


Bonnema said she did not know the name of Daniel Smith's father or that of the baby girl.


———


Associated Press writer Daisy Nguyen is Los Angeles contributed to this report.


Can't believe what just happened....sm
I returned, fortunately a small amount, of work to my doc's office by email, and it went to some company I've never heard of, not in my contacts, no where in my computer.  The person who received it responded with a receipt and best I could do was ask her to delete it.  Called the OM to tell them and she is checking into it.  Has anyone ever had anything like this happen?  Has to be some kind of internet hiccup but scares me it's going to cost me my job. 
That happened to us once.
Got somebodies email with their address. Called the phone company, they did not know what had happened. Something with the server sometimes.