Proposed Law Seeks to Eliminate Liability Stemming From Physician Apologies
As author Erich Segal once famously said, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” However, as many Michigan physicians can attest, so does the fear of medical malpractice suits.
This may change if a proposed law currently pending in the Michigan legislature passes. Dubbed the “I’m Sorry” law, the bill seeks to amend the Michigan revised judicature act and disallow the use of apologies, condolences or expressions of sympathy as evidence of an admission of liability in medical malpractice cases.
Generally, physicians often refrain from apologizing for errors (either made by themselves or by hospitals) out of fear of being sued for medical malpractice. However, according to the bill’s sponsor Jim Marleau (R-Lake Orion), such practices often lead to more civil suits. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Marleau cited to the physician apology policy currently used at the University of Michigan hospitals. The policy permits physicians to convey apologies or condolences to families, and since it was launched in 2004, U-M hospitals have actually seen a 40 percent decline in malpractice lawsuits.
Marleau explained that when physicians fail to express sympathy or admit that something went wrong, patients and families are often spurred to file suit out of frustration for a lack of information, or to make sure that the problem doesn’t happen again. This in turns leads to increased medical costs.
A similar proposal was introduced in the Michigan legislature before but failed to pass. Marleau hopes that the bill will have a better chance of passage this time given the current attention on health care reform. In fact, Michigan is one of only 15 states without legal protection for physicians who want to apologize to patients or families.
The full text of the bill (H.B. 6073) is available here.
