• Join or Renew
  • Login
  • Canadian Nurses Protective Society 1-800-267-3390
  • Switch LanguageFrançais
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Canadian Nurses Protective Society
  • Switch Languagefr
  • Services
    • Services
    • Core Services and Professional Liability Protection
    • Supplementary Protection
    • Am I Eligible?
    • In need of urgent legal information?
  • Education & Resources
    • Education & Resources
    • Publications
    • Communities of Practice
    • Nursing Students
    • The NP Corner
    • Operating a business or independent practice?
    • Case Studies
  • News & Events
    • News & Events
    • Webinars
    • News
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • A Message from the CEO
    • Board of Directors
    • Who we are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Careers
    • CNPS Member Organizations
  • COVID-19
Canadian Nurses Protective Society 1-800-267-3390
  • Need Urgent Advice?

Core Services and Professional Liability Protection

CNPS beneficiaries are eligible for the following core services*:
Canadian Nurses Protective Society > Services > Core Services and Professional Liability Protection

Legal Advice

CNPS beneficiaries may request confidential, legal advice from in-house legal counsel experienced in nursing or health law. This includes information about professional obligations and professional liability issues in specific circumstances and the explanation of legal steps to take and actions to avoid when an incident has occurred.

The CNPS can also provide pre-contractual review of professional service agreements. This service is to assist beneficiaries in identifying wording or content in a proposed agreement that may give rise to issues within the realm of professional obligations, responsibility or liability. It is not intended to address pure employment or commercial terms.

As there are several aspects of an agreement to consider in a review, it is important to contact the CNPS as soon as possible upon receipt of the agreement so that there is adequate time to proceed to the review. We cannot provide any commitment that a review will be conducted in advance of any deadline, particularly if the timeline is very short.

Professional Liability Protection and Assistance With Legal Proceedings**

Professional Liability Protection (“PLP”) generally refers to the provision of legal representation to a professional who faces allegations of professional negligence in a claim or lawsuit, along with the payment, on behalf of the professional, of the compensation that the court may order to be paid following a trial or as a result of a settlement.

CNPS beneficiaries are generally eligible for assistance with legal proceedings, including:

Claims and civil proceedings (up to $10M per claim)***
  • Defence of claims and legal actions for claims arising from nursing practice which are not adequately covered by the employer (primarily claims for professional negligence, but can also extend to claims for defamation, libel, slander, breach of privacy, abuse, neglect or discrimination) 
  • Assistance generally includes payment of any settlement or any court-imposed damages, costs, legal expenses and fees, generally excluding punitive damages
Criminal investigations & prosecutions (up to $1M per occurrence)
  • Assistance with police inquiries, requests for information
  • Investigation of criminal allegations arising from nursing practice
  • Defence of criminal charges arising from nursing practice
  • Legal representation available to defend charges from the outset in most circumstances
Statutory offences (up to $1M per occurrence)
  • Includes investigations of alleged human rights infringement, privacy breaches and violations of legal obligations under child protection or “protection for persons in care” legislation.****
Witness appearances
  • Legal assistance for nurses compelled to appear as witnesses at legal proceedings
  • Legal assistance for nurses involved in coroners’ or medical examiners’ investigations
  • Legal assistance in responding to an application for production of client records in a criminal sexual assault case

The Unexpected

Are you facing a situation that is not expressly contained in the above? A military board of inquiry? The theft of your prescription pad? We know that your practice is unpredictable and that legal issues cannot all be contained in a pre-established list.

The CNPS is structured to act as your legal resource as you navigate the complexities of modern health care. While we cannot provide a solution to every problem, the CNPS can assist in a wide range of unexpected circumstances where your professional integrity may be threatened or where legal support is needed to address a patient safety concern.

Risk management education

The CNPS publishes educational material on a wide range of subjects to help nurses understand their professional legal obligations and manage the risks in their nursing practice with the goal of improving patient safety. We provide risk-management presentations to nursing groups across Canada on specific legal issues related to their nursing practice. Additionally, the CNPS hosts regular webinars on a variety of topics relevant to risk-management in nursing practice. Learn more.

Would you like to request a group presentation or CNPS attendance at an event? Please fill out the request form here.

Looking for Assistance with complaints made to your nursing regulator about your professional conduct? Apply for Supplementary Protection (optional)

The CNPS Supplementary Protection program was created to provide nurses an affordable source of legal assistance with complaints to their nursing regulator (College or association). An additional fee applies.
Learn More

The CNPS: A lifetime investment

CNPS professional liability protection is occurrence-based, which means nurses can seek assistance from the CNPS regarding legal proceedings arising from professional nursing services rendered while they were CNPS beneficiaries, regardless of when a claim resulting from this incident is made or a legal proceeding is commenced. Beneficiaries therefore remain eligible through retirement for assistance with incidents that took place while they were CNPS beneficiaries.

CNPS protection extends to decisions that rest on the exercise of professional nursing judgment, whether made in the context of providing care, managing the provision of care, or providing research or volunteer services.

CNPS offers discretionary assistance – a unique and flexible approach to providing professional liability protection, modeled on the professional liability protection relied upon by Canadian physicians for more than a hundred years. The CNPS is not an insurance company. It considers each request for assistance on an individual basis. This allows the CNPS to effectively provide professional liability protection and respond to a wide range of other circumstances, including, but not limited to, the legal circumstances listed above. Requests for legal representation will be considered on a case-by-case basis by a committee of nurses to determine eligibility for assistance as well as the appropriate level of assistance.

How else is the CNPS different? Read more.

Do you have additional questions? 

Visit our FAQ.

* Certain conditions may apply. Each case is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Contact the CNPS for more information.
** An individual annual aggregate limit may apply.
*** CNPS professional liability protection generally does not extend to claims for which the nurse’s defence is adequately covered by an employer’s professional liability protection or insurance.
****Excludes complaints made to the regulator (see Supplementary Protection program).

 

Services

  • Core Services and Professional Liability Protection
  • Supplementary Protection
  • In need of urgent legal information?

Contact CNPS for assistance: The earlier, the better!

In order to be eligible for assistance, CNPS beneficiaries must report any involvement in a legal proceeding in a timely manner (as close to the time of notification as possible). This allows us to ensure we can meet the often short timelines for response. Better yet, early consultation when a question first arises may avoid escalation to a complaint or legal proceeding.

Canadian Nurses Protective Society
Talk to a real person, every time.
1-800-267-3390
Canadian Nurses Protective Society
  • Terms of Use
  • FAQs
  • Careers
  • Newsletter
  • Join or Renew
© 2023 Canadian Nurses Protective Society
  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • CNPS Privacy Policy
  • Login
  • Français