legal sanity

A topic I’ve regularly visited here is the power of apology as an aid to dispute resolution; legal service delivery; and business assessment.

The National Law Journal (by way of law.com) provides us with updated coverage on the subject in an article called Emerging Med-Mal Strategy: ‘I’m Sorry.' The piece reacquaints us with the full disclosure/early offer policies that are taking a foothold in the medical liability world. Grounded in the efforts of The Sorry Works! Coalition, these policies - and the programs they beget in hospitals across the country – aim to facilitate communication and early settlement in cases of medical mistake.

Under the program model, affected families come away with an understanding of “what happened to them or a family member while in a health provider's care." In some instances, they receive a doctor’s apology for the error.

Lawyers praise the programs for fostering an “open exchange of information, particularly between experienced counsel, that enables the early settlement of meritorious claims.” Other proponents point out that, in practice, the policies tend to elicit more transparent, honest and open exchange than up front apologies. They also stress that, in institutions enforcing such policy programs, “straight talk about mistakes and compensation offers” coexists with an equally “vigorous defense of cases in which [the institution] believes no mistake” was made.

The potential reach of these kinds of conflict resolution initiatives – favoring open and honest exchange between would-be litigants – is enormous. It will be interesting to see how the model evolves in the medical dispute context and is adapted to serve the larger legal industry.