Physician Apologies

Bruce Bierhans

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 540

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The Cape Cod Times recently published an editorial supporting an evidentiary change making physician aplogies inadmissable at trial. The following is a copy of my letter to the Editor, published a few days later.

"Your Nov.22 editorial "When doctors fail" reflects a basic lack of understanding regarding our civil justice system and the rights of victims to be compensated for acts of negligence.

To support your position for an evidentiary change making physician apologies inadmissable at trial, you resort to utilizing figures provided by a physicians "tort reform" (substitute the words "deprive patients of their rights") organization. You ignore the many studies conducted by other organizations such as Public Citizen that indicate that malpractice premiums have risen because of poor financial investments made by liability insurers, not by runaway verdicts.

Our system is based upon the principle of accountability. A professional, whether attorney, physician, accountant or architect, should be held accountable to those who have sustained physical injury or economoc loss. "I'm sorry" is not an adequate response to a family that has lost a family member or a worker who can no longer work for a lifetime as the result of an act of carelessness.

If one adopts the theory espoused in your editorial perhaps we should also let the villians who created the subprime crisis and the resulting economic mess off after a simple "I'm sorry." I don't think so.