Comments on: Saying sorry…legally

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:07:00 +0000

Dana, I agree. It is a good thing when a doctor admits he was wrong, but that doesn’t make what he did a necessarily criminal action.

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 03:28:00 +0000

That’s heartbreaking, Laurie. But it is also nice the doctor had the character to address that. Medicine is not such an exact science that every “mistake” can so easily be considered negligence.

Jennifer, I have no idea whether any other states have similar legislation. Another bill we have which our beloved Mr. Chambers from Sarpy County opposes is one that does not allow communities to be held accountable for injuries on playground equipment. A relatively recent court ruling left them liable, and has caused many parks to consider closing and local schools to consider fencing off playgrounds.

How ridiculous is that?

By: Laurie

Laurie — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 02:47:00 +0000

A friend of mine lost her baby because the doctor waited too long to do a C-section. The child lived for two days, but was basically brain-dead. When she went back for her post-delivery visit he put his head on his desk and said, “I just can’t face you, I am asking you to change to a different doctor.” He felt so terribly bad, and he let her know it. She felt for him too and understood his pain.

By: jennifer in OR

jennifer in OR — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:37:00 +0000

Good things coming out of Nebraska. Are there any other states you know of with similar legislation? I’ve had personal experience with “medical mistakes” and would have really appreciated some sympathy, not fear of reprisal.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:32:00 +0000

Thank you for your comments, and I agree. I like the Spanish, milehimama. In German, it is “Es tut mir leid,” which literally means, “It causes me pain.”

And, as usual, the English isn’t really that different, and the difficulty stems from a more modern usage:

“O.E. sarig “distressed, full of sorrow,” from W.Gmc. *sairig-, from *sairaz “pain” (physical and mental); related to sar (see sore). Meaning “wretched, worthless, poor” first recorded c.1250. Spelling shift from -a- to -o- by influence of sorrow. Apologetic sense is from 1914; as another way to say “excuse me” it is first attested 1972, from phrase sorry about that, popularized 1960s by U.S. TV show “Get Smart.”

By: Judy Aron

Judy Aron — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:17:00 +0000

That is a sad testament to our society :
In general…
we are parents being taught to abrogate responsibility and we are professionals who cannot admit we did something wrong and we are foregoing human compassion in order not to be sued.

That is so sick all around.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:05:00 +0000

I was told by the husband of a doctor that doctors are also trained to never admit they don’t know what’s going on. Of course, I already knew this from first- and second-hand experience, and I had attributed it to arrogance; but my acquaintance informed me that it is a doctrine informally taught in medical school.

By: Milehimama

Milehimama — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:11:00 +0000

“I’m Sorry” in Spanish is “Lo Siento”, which literally translated means “I feel it”.
That’s what an apology should mean - not “I’m guilty”. I am curious, though, is this being seen as an extension of 5th amendment rights, or is it a bill standing on its own?

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