A new Pennsylvania state law, which goes into effect next week, allows physicians to do just that, without the fear their apology could be used against them in a medical malpractice case.

Michigan passed an apology law in 2001. Afterward, the University of Michigan Health Systems looked at its malpractice suits from 2001 to 2007, and found that its lawsuits were cut in half and its litigation expenses were reduced by $2 million a year, according to a study on the law.

If only, she said, her physician would have apologized, after failing to diagnose her painful kidney stones for months.

The woman said she complained of severe stomach and back pain over a period of nine months to her physician.

Sometimes, the pain was so bad she said she would cry, but the physician "would act as if I was a baby."

Finally, a scan showed the source of her pain was a kidney stone. An operation found she actually had a number of kidney stones, which had been there for some time.

"Never got any type of apology from him; in fact considered suing for malpractice," said the patient, who contacted Lancaster Newspapers about her case, but declined to identify herself.

The new law is designed to allow doctors to say they are sorry without worrying that their apology will be construed as an admission of guilt, said state Sen. Pat Vance, a Cumberland County Republican who sponsored the bill establishing the law.

The law will not protect a physician who actually has harmed a patient from being sued, Vance said. The law also applies to nursing home staff and administrators.

But the law can lead to better relationships between physicians and patients, which ultimately can lead to fewer malpractice lawsuits, she said.

That is the goal of the law.

"Many people just want to know there is some caring," Vance said.

Local doctors and a medical malpractice attorney said they hope the law does open up communication from physicians, who can be very cautious with their words due to their fear of medical malpractice suits.

"A doctor can express sympathy or empathy with the patient and their family, when the end result isn't what was expected or the outcome wasn't as good as anticipated," said Dr. Karen Rizzo, a local ear-nose-and-throat physician who is president-elect of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Research shows that those kinds of statements from doctors have led to fewer malpractice suits in some of the 36 other states that already have passed apology laws, Vance said.

"Apologies work," she said.

The Pennsylvania law takes effect as the number of malpractice suits is rising here, more than doubling since 2008, according to figures from the Lancaster County Prothonotary's office.

The number of cases filed, by year, has been: 14 in 2008, 17 in 2009, 30 in 2010, 25 in 2011, 35 in 2012 and 35 as of Dec. 1 of this year.

While better communication is a worthy goal, John Zervanos, a personal injury lawyer, said he worries about how the courts might interpret the statute.

The law is somewhat ambiguous about what statements would be considered admissible in court, said Zervanos, a partner with Soloff & Zervanos, which has offices in Lancaster, Philadelphia and other regional locations.

However, realistically, he said, doctors don't admit mistakes to patients — he's never seen that in almost 20 years of medical malpractice work.

If doctors also are reluctant to apologize, express sympathy or condolences, or offer an explanation, the law could be a good thing, he said.

Local obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Mike Meyer said he already will express regret to a patient when something does not go as planned or the outcome is not what a patient wanted.

"It always opens an avenue for a patient to have a discussion with a physician," he said. "The patient gets their answers. Patients get angry when they don't get answers."

Meyer, who is with Ephrata Community OB/GYN, said he knows of lawsuits that resulted because a doctor would not talk to a patient. Discussions, he said, "clear the air."

Medicine can be unpredictable, said Dr. Jim Kelly, a physician at Lincoln Family Medicine in Ephrata.

But sometimes physicians are afraid to express regret for unexpected results, fearing they will say something the "wrong way."

"It's tricky," said Kelly, who noted that he works to have an open communication with his patients.

The law does not offer blanket protection to physicians, one hospital official said.

"What you say after the fact is not going to change what has occurred," said Robert Macina, Lancaster General Health senior vice president and chief administrative legal officer.

But in cases where a patient has experienced unexpected complications, or is in pain, or does not get the hoped-for results, it's best for physicians to be open and honest.

The law, he believes, "may give a physician more flexibility to not worry about what they say and to be up-front with their feelings of compassion."