Liability Insurance

All housestaff are covered under UCSD's self-insured medical professional and hospital liability insurance when working within the course and scope of one's appointment, whether it is on-site or off-site at an affiliated hospital.

It is imperative that UCSD house officers contact the UCSD Medical Center Risk Management Department whenever there is an adverse occurrence involving a patient in whose care the house officer was involved. You must contact the Risk Management Department at (858)657-6765 immediately under any circumstance where there is potential for malpractice litigation, regardless of the presence or absence of negligence. Both damage control for malpractice and successful defense against malpractice depend on early warning to the Risk Management Department.

Additionally, it is vital that UCSD house officers contact Risk Management before discussing any patient care issues to prevent incurring additional liability or becoming a newly-named additional defendant. Please advise anyone wishing to discuss those issues, including attorneys or risk management staff at affiliated hospitals, that such requests must go through Risk Management as a matter of University policy.

If you need a liability certification letter, please fill out a request form,obtaining any required signatures, and mail it to Graduate Medical Education, mail code 8829 or fax to (619) 543-7850:

• Liability Request form for moonlighting
• Liability Request form for rotating at another facility or for future employment