Legislation intended to allow physicians to apologize for bad treatment outcomes without them being used against them in malpractice lawsuits is again under consideration in Rhode Island.
The bill wouldn't stop malpractice suits, but would make apologies inadmissible in lawsuits.
The bill has been introduced in previous years to no avail. Two years ago, actor James Woods testified in favor of the bill in legislative committee. Woods, who is a Warwick native, sued a local hospital after his brother died of a heart attack there in 2006.
He settled the suit after a hospital executive apologized, and told lawmakers that a simple apology can help families make sense out of their loss.
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