In many cases, the employer's insurance is designed to protect them from such suits, not necessarily you as well. The fact is, in most cases, employers insurance certainly does not cover the costs that would be inherent in mounting a defense against a law suit that targets your right to practice. Even if you were to win in such a disciplinary hearing, without insurance coverage the financial cost of legal representation to win such a case would likely be enormous. This is why it is essential to seek out your own such liability insurance, to ensure the best possible protection against litigation, as it usually includes disciplinary defense coverage under its parameters. Many liability insurance policies today also include something called personal injury protection, which guards you against charges of slander, libel, assault and violation of privacy.



The unfortunate reality of today's society is that anyone can file a law suit against you any time they choose, and even if you are completely and totally one hundred percent innocent, you will have to defend yourself in court, often to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which you will not be recompensed for even if you win. Social workers, given the often extremely emotional nature of the job and the cases they may be forced to deal with, are arguably more at risk than most from law suits, particularly ones fueled by emotion rather than legal sense, and thus seeking insurance protection from such law suits is an absolute necessity of the profession in the twenty first century as we live in it today. Law suits aimed at social workers can be filed with any number of claims, from alleging treatment without consent, failure to provide adequate care, improper child placement, false imprisonment, failing to prevent a client's suicide, breach of confidentiality, defamation, failure to protect others from harm (perhaps from the client), making the wrong diagnosis and/or providing the wrong treatment to a client, terminating treatment unfairly or allegations of sexual involvement with the client or some other form of sexual misconduct.



You do not need to be a part of any particular organisation to claim for liability insurance, merely to have legitimate qualifications and to be actually currently practicing in your chosen profession. Having social work liability insurance does not mean you will get sued, of course - it merely means that should such an unfortunate eventuality occur, you will be prepared to deal with it.