R.I. again proposes apology protection legislation

Legislation that would allow physicians to apologize for bad treatment outcomes—without those apologies being used against them in malpractice lawsuits—is again under consideration in Rhode Island. The bill wouldn't stop malpractice suits, but would make apologies inadmissible in lawsuits. The bill has been introduced in previous years to no avail. Two years ago, actor James Woods testified in favor of the bill in legislative committee. Woods, a Warwick, R.I., native, sued a local hospital after his brother died of a heart attack there in 2006. He settled the suit after a hospital executive apologized, and told lawmakers that a simple apology can help families make sense of their loss.

Source: Modern Healthcare News, Associated Press