Review of Doug Wojcieszak, James W. Saxton, Esq., and Maggie M. Finkelstein, Esq., Sorry Works!: Disclosure, Apology, and Relationships Prevent Medical Malpractice Claims

Abstract

Doug Wojcieszak, James Saxton, and Maggie Finkelstein’s book Sorry Works!: Disclosure, Apology, and Relationships Prevent Medical Malpractice Claims is a handbook for healthcare professionals that offers evidenced-based information and strategies for ameliorating victims’ feeling of anger and mitigating litigation after cases of medical error. The authors do not offer much in the way of direct philosophical argument, but the book is a nice addition to an otherwise lacking area of research in bioethics. The book offers bioethicists, and readers in general, both a framework from which to understand the issues involved in the aftermath of medical error and a resource on which to base normative claims of what should occur after such cases. Wojcieszak’s personal experience with medical error and his professional experience with tort reform, public relations, and medical malpractice claims enable him to offer valuable insights into the issues of medical malpractice and error. As the founder of the Sorry Works! Coalition, he teaches healthcare professionals and insurance companies that full-disclosure methods work as a means to striking a middle-ground solution between healthcare and insurance professionals who want “[f]ewer lawsuits and better control over liability exposure” and victims who want “swift justice with no constitutional limits” (9). The book gains added legitimacy with the addition of Saxton and Finkelstein, who contribute their vast amounts of legal expertise and medical malpractice litigation experience. The combined forces of the authors make Sorry Works! a valuable tool for not only physicians, hospitals, insurance companies, tort lawyers, and victims (or surviving loved-ones), but also anyone else who is engaged with the issues and implications of medical error.