The Effect of State Apology Laws on Medical Malpractice Liability Risk
نویسندگان
چکیده
State apology laws offer a separate avenue from traditional damages-centric tort reforms to address medical malpractice liability. These laws facilitate apologies from physicians by excluding statements of apology from malpractice trials. Prior research suggests that apologies may assuage the anger of patients, decrease the number of claims filed, and lower settlement amounts. Using a unique dataset that covers all malpractice claims for 90% of physicians practicing in a single specialty across the country, this study examines whether apology laws limit malpractice liability risk. In general, apology laws increase the probability of malpractice lawsuits. Apology laws can reduce the average payment per malpractice case, but this decrease is primarily the result of an increase in the number of cases involving no payment to a claimant, not a decrease in the amounts that claimants actually receive. Overall, the evidence suggests that apology laws do not effectively limit medical malpractice liability risk.
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