Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP Blog

Medical Malpractice: Doctors Confront Patients with an “I’m Sorry”

In Chicago, what seemed to be a normal C-Section Procedure on Marina Del Rosario Valdez turned out to be just the opposite. When performing the surgery, Dr. Tapas K. Das Gupta mistakenly left an electrode inside the Chicago native. Gupta had no past instances of any type of medical malpractice, so he did what he thought anyone who made a mistake would do, apologize. Dr. Tapas K. Das Gupta wasted no time in admitting his fault to Valdez, in which the hospital quickly acknowledge the mistake and arranged for its removal free of charge in a timely matter.

Medical Malpractice is becoming more of an issue these days due to pharmaceutical giants & insurance corporations trying to increase efficiency at every end of the industry. An article in the NYtimes says, "For decades, malpractice lawyers and insurers have counseled doctors and hospitals to "deny and defend." Many still warn clients that any admission of fault, or even expression of regret, is likely to invite litigation and imperil careers." Pharmaceutical companies pushing new drugs down doctors throats, makes them more susceptible to misdiagnose. Misdiagnoses will lead to patients demanding actions against medical errors drawing in lengthy legal processes. Therefore hospitals and medical centers will take the disarming approach.

By admitting faults and mistakes in a timely manner while offering sincere apologies, hospitals are trying to diffuse the patient’s anger which usually is the fuel that fires litigation and lawsuits. Malpractice lawyers are saying that the urge to go forward with medical malpractice litigation stems from doctors and hospitals using the defend and deny approach. Patients are not only concerned about their own safety, but they do not want it to happen to others in the future.

At the University of Michigan Health System, one of the first to experiment with full disclosure, existing claims and lawsuits dropped to 83 in August 2007 from 262 in August 2001, said Richard C. Boothman, the medical center’s chief risk officer. This proves that coming clean benefits both sides of the confrontation. "Improving patient safety and patient communication is more likely to cure the malpractice crisis than defensiveness and denial," Mr. Boothman said.