Interviews with Disclosure & Apology Leaders: Kyle Sweet, JD

This year at Sorry Works! we launched a program to interview disclosure and apology leaders to get their perspective on what’s working in the disclosure movement while discussing the challenges we continue to face.

Today we are sharing a recent discussion with Kyle Sweet, JD. 

Kyle is an Oklahoma-based medical malpractice defense attorney who was recently appointed to be the oversight chair for the “CRP Attorney Alliance.” 

The Alliance was created by the Collaborative for Accountability and Improvement (led by Dr. Tom Gallagher).  The goal of the Alliance is to educate attorneys -- both defense and plaintiff’s -- about disclosure/CRP programs, provide support, and develop a community of like-minded litigators.  Most notably, the CRP Attorney Alliance is striving to create a certification program for both defense and plaintiffs lawyers that will provide training and a certificate that can be used to market their services to potential clients, be they healthcare organizations, insurers, or patients/families.

Note to readers: “CRP” is an acronym for Communication and Resolution Programs, and these programs have historically been – and still are – referred to as “disclosure programs” or “disclosure & apology programs.”  The scholarly literature uses both “CRP” and “disclosure” and the terms are often intermingled, so we use both terms jointly to avoid confusion.   

SW: Thank you for doing this interview with us, Kyle.  Let’s begin with a broad question…what is the state of litigation with COVID-19?  What do you see as we begin to move out of this pandemic? 

Kyle Sweet, JD:  Filings of medical malpractice cases are starting to pick up again, but it’s not back to normal yet.  Many states extended the statute of limitations on cases with the pandemic, but now many of those extensions are expiring and plaintiff’s lawyers are having to file cases.  Moreover, some of these cases that are now being filed have not received the normal investigations and “weed out” that plaintiff’s lawyers typically do, so we will sort through some of these complaints in the process of litigation.  Furthermore, we have questions about the type of jurors we will empanel, as many potential jurors – including educated jurors – are experiencing true hardships with remote learning children, health concerns, etc.  On a positive note, law firms that understand and embrace technology (such as Zoom depositions) will prosper and thrive going forward.

SW: How do you think COVID-19 is going to impact patient safety initiatives, especially the development of CRP/disclosure programs? 

Kyle Sweet, JD: Prior to the pandemic, funds and the attention span of healthcare leaders were limited, and often it was too easy for safety initiatives to be dropped from the schedule or cut from the budget.  This problem will only become more dire with the financial strain that COVID-19 has placed on acute and long-term care facilities, especially in rural areas.  However, I remain optimistic for the continued implementation of disclosure/CRP because these programs have demonstrated cost savings.  So, in a time when money is extremely tight, we can absolutely show a positive return on the investment of dollars and time.

SW: What drew you to CRP/disclosure? How did you become interested in the disclosure/CRP movement?

Kyle Sweet, JD:  I had a birth injury case several years ago where we believed the doctor did everything required of her, met the standard of care, etc, and we took the case to trial and received a defense verdict.  However, not only was the family unhappy with the outcome, but the doctor was also visibly upset after the verdict. There was no healing for either side, and I now believe the doctor and family would have been better served had they been encouraged to remain in the relationship post-event.  With the proper support and problem-solving techniques, litigation could have been avoided and a better outcome could have been achieved for both sides.   

SW: Let’s talk about the newly formed CRP Attorney Alliance.  What is your vision and goals?

Kyle Sweet, JD:  We want to engage our colleagues in both the defense and plaintiff’s bar.  We want to tackle the historical mistrust and the animosity between defense and plaintiff’s lawyers by working to change the standard of care in legal services. For so long we have fought over what is the standard of care in medicine, but we really need to look at the care we are providing to our clients, be they doctors, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes (defense side) or patients and families (plaintiff’s side). We need to start every relationship with a question, “What is important to you about this case?” and from the answer we can begin to visualize a “win” for our client.  For too long, my colleagues have injected fear (some of it well-founded) and automatically shifted clients to litigation battles that too often bend the truth and have ruined the lives of healthcare professionals and patients/families. So many conflicts can be resolved by ethical and empathic communication and pro-active problem solving in the immediate aftermath of an event.  This needs to be the new standard of care in the legal profession. This is a major goal of our group.

SW: Talk to us about the CRP/disclosure certification process the Alliance wants to create for defense and plaintiff’s attorneys.

Kyle Sweet, JD:  So, looking at a state like Texas there are probably 20 plus defense firms that could handle a neurological injury case.  The insurance companies know how to find these firms.  Conversely, if a patient or family wants to sue the doctor, hospital, or nursing home, there are countless names to choose from. However, if an insurance company wants more cases handled with CRP, where do they find trained lawyers to help?  How does a family find a lawyer who is knowledgeable about CRP and can help them navigate a disclosure meeting with the hospital leadership?  There is no recognized certification right now, and we want to fill this gap. 

This can be a business game changer for defense and plaintiff’s firms. These firms will not only develop a new business line (disclosure/CRP) but also be better positioned to be assigned the cases that ultimately go through litigation. More importantly, CRP can be a tremendous personal boost for the people we call lawyers.  Some of the happiest attorneys I know are those fortunate souls who have begun to focus their practice on disclosure/CRP and other forms of conflict resolution.  Instead of continually girding for a fight, these lawyers are privileged to help good people solve problems in a way that respects their humanity, the truth, and the law.  Moreover, in certain cases where errors or mistakes truly did happen, the disclosure/CRP process is much more amenable to safety improvements that will save lives and dollars down the road.  It is such a gratifying line of work and I want more of my colleagues to join me in this endeavor.   

SW: How can defense and plaintiff’s lawyers learn more about CRP Attorney Alliance and your projects, including the certification program?

Kyle Sweet, JD: They are welcome to call my cell phone at 405-684-0900 or e-mail me at kyle@sweetlawfirm.com. Also, here is a link (from Collaborative website) with a flyer that provides some additional information on the Alliance.  I encourage lawyers on both sides to call or e-mail me. Thank you for this interview.

SW:  You are welcome! Sorry Works! will continue to update our readers about your activities, so please keep us in the loop.