Disclosing a serious, harm-causing medical error can be one of the most wrenching experiences a health professional can have. Fears over organizational censure, malpractice litigation, and even licensure sanction can have a chilling effect on the communication, such that it might not occur in a patient-centered way. This presentation will discuss various barriers to the empathetic disclosure of medical error and offer suggestions (that are nevertheless not to be taken as legal advice or as representing the standard of care) on how such conversations might occur in an ethical fashion.