When it comes to incidents of potential medical malpractice or medical negligence, the last thing you would ever expect to hear is a physician or other medical professional admit fault and apologize. However, according to a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, physicians who did just this were able to lower the number of medical malpractice claims and hasten the resolution of legal disputes.

The study in question was instituted by the University of Michigan Health System in 2001. It encouraged medical professionals, including physicians, to follow a program for reporting any and all medical errors/mistakes.

Specifically, the program called for the following:

• Informing patients and/or their families of medical errors
• Identifying who made the medical error
• Explaining how the medical error occurred and the measures taken to prevent a reoccurrence of the same type of medical error
• Apologizing for the medical error
• Offering compensation for the medical error (if at-fault)

Researchers subsequently examined documentation from exactly 1,131 medical malpractice claims/requests for compensation from 1995 to 2007. (This period of time was selected because it spanned both several years before and several years after the program was instituted.)

The results of the examination revealed that after the "fault-admission" program was introduced:

• The average monthly rate for new claims declined from slightly more than seven for every 100,000 patient encounters to 4.52 for every 100,000 patient encounters
• The average monthly rate of new medical malpractice claims against the hospital declined from 2.13 for every 100,000 patient encounters to .75 for every 100,000 patient encounters

While the study's architects found these results encouraging, they were also quick to urge caution in reading too much into them. First, the number of medical malpractice claims fell throughout the entire state of Michigan during the years in question. Second, they were unable to tell whether the admissions of fault came from medical professionals immediately after the incident or just in response to patient complaints.  

It is important to remember that while this study was certainly interesting, it is just a study. The simple reality is that many medical professionals or hospitals remain reluctant to admit any error or negligence that results in serious physical injuries, medical complications or even fatalities.

Fortunately, an experienced attorney can properly document injuries and complications, build a compelling case, and refuse to let hospitals or physicians hide behind a wall of respectability in order to mask egregious fallings on their part.

If you lost a loved one to what you believe was medical malpractice, you should strongly consider contacting an experienced legal professional.

This post was for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal or medical advice.

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Related Resources:

• When Doctors Admit Mistakes, Fewer Malpractice Suits Result, Study Says (Bloomberg Businessweek)