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I
can't speak to a specific hospital-based situation or compensation issues, but
the insurance piece depends somewhat on the actual structure of the
program.
In a
traditional hospital-based program using a contracted vendor for flight
operations, financial protection for the families of the flight crews is
provided by contractually requiring a certain minimum amount of liability
coverage be carried by the vendor. Typical amounts might start from $5
million and go upwards from there (requirements in the $50-100 million range are
not unheard of). In the event of a fatal accident, the survivors will file
a claim against the vendor. In this scenario, it usually doesn't make
sense for the hospital to provide it's own accidental death policy unless it's
part of a general corporate travel insurance program and even then, most such
policies exclude deaths that occur aboard aircraft other than scheduled
commercial flights so you're still back to the vendor's liability coverage as
the primary source of recovery.
Malpractice liability insurance is, however, generally
carried by the hospital for its employees.
However, one situation in which employees need to
be very cautious is when the program is structured in a manner such that they
become employees of the aviation vendor. In that case, if a fatal accident
occurs, there is generally an extremely limited ability to provide financial
relief to family or dependents because it is then a Worker's Compensation case
rather than third-party liability. What most people don't realize is that
you generally have an option to decline Worker's Compensation coverage, but if
you do not, you have waived the right to sue your employer for wrongful death or
disabling injury, even if there was criminal misconduct on their part.
Your sole hope for financial recovery is to establish third-party liability on
the part of some entity other than your employer (typically the list of
potential TPL candidates will include the aircraft manufacturer, any third-party
maintenance providers, perhaps the fuel vendor, etc.).
If you
have any doubts about your financial standing in the event of a death or
disabling injury, the time to be asking the questions is now. If you're
told that Worker's Compensation will take care of you, take the next step and
find out what that really means. Here in Arizona, my family's income would
fall below the Federal poverty level based on the Worker's Compensation cap on
compensation if I were disabled or killed in the line of duty.
Particularly for those with dependents, you need to get all the information
you can on what your employer provides and then meet with an insurance expert to
consider ways of closing the gap between what will be provided and what is
needed. That part is your responsibility, not your employers. Their
only duty to you is to honestly and completely disclose what they do, and do
not, provide. Sadly, it is within my experience to have a flight program
administration just flat-out lie about insurance coverage for program employees
so I don't think it is inappropriate to ask for the names of carriers, policy
numbers or other proof of coverage if it has been represented that coverage
is available. If they are unable or unwilling to provide that information,
you should do your gap analysis based on the assumption that the coverage is
only potential and not proven.
regards!
paul
Paul
M. Wright, Jr.
Mesa,
AZ
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