Casual Conversations #39 Medical Cannabis Malpractice
In this Casual Conversations episode by the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists, host Christine Goedhart interviews Danielle Hernandez of Gilbert Insurance Group about malpractice insurance for medical cannabis providers.
Hernandez describes entering cannabis insurance in 2016, developing cannabis-focused education, and discovering a problematic policy exclusion for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome that removed the duty to defend; she worked with a carrier to remove the exclusion and improve coverage.
She explains her client-centered approach: understanding provider concerns, scrutinizing exclusions, and adding risk-management tools outside insurance (forms, acknowledgments, procedures).
Key challenges include few willing carriers due to limited federal regulation and slow insurer form changes, with quick “knee-jerk” exclusions after lawsuits.
She advises providers to review forms and policy requirements, collaborate with carriers and specialists, monitor federal rescheduling and state board guidance, and stay engaged in rulemaking.
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