Understanding indemnity in practice nursing: part 1

The first article of this two-part series focuses on what has to be proved by an injured patient if a practice nurse is to be legally liable to pay them damages. The article dispels some of the myths and misconceptions which have for years perpetuated inaccuracies in nurse education, and which have caused innumerable nurses to be unnecessarily scared of this part of the law.

To indemnify someone against something is to mitigate the adverse financial consequences of a legal liability claim brought successfully against a practice nurse. It will most often be a claim by an injured patient, though it might, in certain circumstances, be made by a relative or by a person financially dependent on the injured patient. The adverse financial consequences of even a criminal act— which in our present context means a finding of gross negligence manslaughter— may be indemnified, though of course the criminality of the act will remain, along with the penalties it carries with it.