James Woods - James Woods Testifying To Support New Medical Bill

The actor will speak before the House Committee on Judiciary in his native Rhode Island on Wednesday (29Feb12) in favour of a law which would allow hospital executives to apologise for mistakes made by their staff without having to face the threat of legal action.

Woods decided to lend his backing to the so-called 'benevolent gestures' bill following his own experience with Rhode Island medics following the 2006 death of his younger brother Michael, who suffered a heart attack and died at Kent Hospital.

The actor filed suit against doctors, accusing them of failing to do enough to save his sibling, but he agreed to drop the medical negligence suit in 2009 after the hospital president issued a sincere apology.

Under the proposed bill, such an admission would not be admissible as evidence if the incident were to go to court in a civil suit.