COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Sympathetic statements by a doctor over a patient’s unexpected medical outcome can’t be admitted as evidence in medical malpractice cases filed after the date a law intended to outlaw their use went into effect in 2004, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

In a unanimous decision, justices reversed an 11th District Court of Appeals ruling that found such a “medical apology” should have been admitted in a case filed in 2007 because the doctor’s statement was made in 2001, before the law went into effect.