title: Efficacy of a physician's words of empathy: an overview of state apology laws.
abstract: Apology laws are gaining traction in the United States, prompting health care professionals to offer words of condolence for adverse medical outcomes without the fear of being sued for malpractice. Although these laws vary by jurisdiction, they have been shown to reduce the financial consequences of a medical malpractice lawsuit. The authors provide an overview of the laws regarding this issue and discuss apologies as a means to reduce medical malpractice claims.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6083, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saitta
authors.forename: Samuel D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Hodge
mesh_terms: D004645:Empathy; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010820:Physicians / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations / Q000941:ethics*; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014481:United States