Saying sorry is not admission of liability

Adverse incidents are often the result of systems or other errors, rather than the fault of one individual, but if your correspondent is suggesting that it is an admission of liability for doctors to admit they have made an error and to apologise,¹ that is not correct. The Medical Defence Union encourages members to tell patients if something has gone wrong and to apologise.

Section 2 of the Compensation Act 2006 says: “An apology, offer of treatment or other redress, shall not of itself amount to an admission of negligence or breach of statutory duty.” In other words, an apology will not itself amount to an admission of liability.

If something goes wrong, patients are entitled to a prompt, sympathetic, and above all truthful account of what has happened. This should be accompanied by an explanation by the clinician of what he or she proposes to do to put the matter right, and an apology, where appropriate. This is also stated in paragraph 31 of the GMC’s Good Medical Practice (2006).

Doctors should be reassured that offering an apology does not constitute an admission of liability, and it may be that this is all the patient wants to hear.