State medical malpractice laws change all the time – for better or worse from a patient’s perspective. Last year, for example, New Mexico’s Medical Malpractice Act was amended to lower the cap on malpractice claims against independent health care facilities from $5 million to just $1 million. Hospitals and medical professionals have some powerful lobbying groups that are always working to protect them.
That’s in part why most states have some kind of “apology law.” These give doctors some immunity from having their expressions of sympathy and remorse – and in some cases, direct apologies – from being used against them in malpractice claims.
These laws have been enacted largely to reduce malpractice claims – at least in cases where there was no serious or permanent harm done. If doctors can feel freer to acknowledge an error, or at least that they understand how a patient feels, that tends to improve doctor-patient relationships.
What if a doctor apologizes for a mistake?
New Mexico currently has no apology law. That means if a doctor apologizes for error or negligence, that apology can be used in a malpractice claim. So can other expressions of remorse. However, the latter is nothing you can build a case on.
While you’re less likely to hear an apology from a New Mexico doctor than in many other states, it’s still important to listen to everything a doctor says after something has gone wrong. Ask questions and take notes. Have relatives in the room with you when you talk to your doctor. Anything a doctor says can lead to evidence of malpractice, including medical records, witnesses and more.
The sooner you seek legal guidance if you believe you or a loved one has been the victim of malpractice, the sooner this evidence can be collected. This can help prevent records from being “lost” or changed. Knowing whether you have a valid case and pursuing that case as quickly as possible will help you seek justice and compensation.
