SDC NEWS ONE RADIO

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

The "Always Right" Paradox & Maladaptive Perfectionism

 SDC News One | Educational Newspaper Feature

When Being Right Becomes a Burden: The Hidden Mental-Health Crisis Inside the Legal Profession



By SDC News One

There is a side of the legal profession that rarely appears in television dramas, courtroom photographs or glossy law-firm advertisements.

It is the private psychological battle that can begin when a person who has been trained to be exceptionally precise discovers that, despite years of education, preparation and professional discipline, they can still be wrong.

There is no recognized medical condition formally called “Right Syndrome.” But the phrase can serve as a powerful description of a real phenomenon: the collision between perfectionism, fear of failure, professional identity and a legal culture that can make mistakes feel far more consequential than they actually are.

For some lawyers, being correct is not simply part of doing the job. It can become intertwined with who they believe they are.

And when something goes left—a missed deadline, an unsuccessful argument, a lost case, a disciplinary complaint or even an ordinary professional mistake—the consequences can extend well beyond the courtroom.

They can reach into a lawyer's identity, relationships, physical health and mental health.

The Profession That Teaches You to Find the Problem

Lawyers are trained to look for weaknesses.

They read contracts searching for the sentence that could create liability. They examine evidence for inconsistencies. They anticipate opposing counsel's arguments. They prepare for questions from judges. They calculate risks and consider what could happen if something goes wrong.

That ability is enormously valuable.

But a professional skill can become psychologically dangerous when it follows someone everywhere.

The lawyer who spends an entire workday identifying problems may eventually begin treating their own life the same way.

What did I miss?

What should I have known?

What if someone discovers my mistake?

What if I am not as competent as everyone thinks I am?

Those questions can transform healthy professional diligence into chronic self-surveillance.

Research and professional organizations have increasingly examined perfectionism and well-being among lawyers. The National Association for Law Placement, for example, has highlighted the relationship between lawyer perfectionism and well-being.

The problem is not simply wanting to do excellent work.

There is an important distinction between healthy striving and maladaptive perfectionism.

Healthy striving says:

“I want to do my best.”

Maladaptive perfectionism can say:

“If I am not perfect, I am a failure.”

That second belief is considerably more dangerous.

When Professional Identity Becomes Personal Identity

One of the greatest psychological traps in high-pressure professions is allowing performance to become identity.

A lawyer loses a case.

Instead of thinking, I lost this case, the mind may begin saying:

I'm a bad lawyer.

A motion contains an error.

Instead of:

I made a mistake, the internal message becomes:

I'm incompetent.

A client becomes dissatisfied.

Instead of:

This relationship went badly, the conclusion becomes:

I am a failure.

The difference may appear small.

Psychologically, it is enormous.

A mistake is an event.

An identity judgment is a verdict.

And lawyers, perhaps more than most professionals, spend their careers operating in environments where verdicts matter.

The "Always Right" Paradox

Here is the paradox.

The legal profession requires lawyers to acknowledge uncertainty, challenge assumptions and argue competing interpretations of the same facts.

Yet the professional culture surrounding that work can sometimes create an expectation that the lawyer personally should appear certain, composed and authoritative.

That creates an impossible standard.

Lawyers are expected to recognize that the law can be complicated while simultaneously projecting confidence.

They are expected to anticipate problems while accepting that they cannot anticipate everything.

They are expected to advocate aggressively while maintaining judgment.

And they are expected to make high-stakes decisions without being overwhelmed by the possibility of making the wrong one.

That is a tremendous psychological load.

Imposter Syndrome Behind the Briefcase

Then there is another quiet adversary: imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis. It describes a pattern in which capable people experience persistent doubts about their abilities and fear that others will eventually discover they are not as competent as they appear.

The legal profession can be fertile ground for those feelings.

A new attorney may sit across from an experienced opposing counsel and wonder whether everyone else knows something they don't.

A young associate may receive praise for excellent work while privately believing the success was luck.

A senior attorney may win case after case yet remain haunted by the possibility that the next courtroom loss will expose them.

The irony is striking.

The more responsibility a lawyer accumulates, the more consequential mistakes can become.

And the more consequential mistakes become, the more frightening the possibility of making one can feel.

When Things Go Left

The most dangerous moment may not be when everything is going well.

It may be when something goes wrong.

A critical deadline is missed.

A client loses a case.

A judge issues an unfavorable ruling.

An ethical question arises.

A disciplinary investigation begins.

A lawyer realizes that a decision they made may have consequences they never anticipated.

For someone already operating under perfectionistic pressure, the event can trigger a cascade.

First comes fear.

Then shame.

Then secrecy.

Then isolation.

And finally, for some people, hopelessness.

That progression matters because isolation can remove the very support system a person needs when a crisis develops.

The Silence Problem

Lawyers are trained to protect confidential information.

They are trained to maintain professional composure.

They are trained to advocate for other people.

Those qualities are essential to the profession.

But they can become obstacles when the person who needs help is the lawyer.

A struggling attorney may hesitate to tell a colleague:

“I'm not doing well.”

They may fear that acknowledging emotional distress will damage their reputation.

They may worry about clients finding out.

They may fear professional consequences.

They may believe that asking for help demonstrates weakness.

And because lawyers are accustomed to solving problems themselves, they may try to solve their own psychological crisis alone.

That is precisely when silence can become dangerous.

The High-Stress Reality

The mental-health statistics surrounding the legal profession deserve serious attention.

The California Lawyers Association has reported research indicating an extraordinarily strong relationship between high stress and suicidal thoughts among lawyers. One cited finding reported that lawyers experiencing high stress were 22 times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts than those experiencing low stress.

That figure should not be treated as merely another workplace statistic.

Behind every statistic is a person.

A person with a family.

A person with friends.

A person who may have spent years building a career.

A person who may be sitting alone in a car after leaving the courthouse, wondering how everything went wrong.

The lesson is not that lawyers are inherently fragile.

The lesson is almost the opposite.

A profession can demand extraordinary resilience and still place people under extraordinary psychological pressure.

Billable Hours Don't Measure Human Capacity

The economics of legal practice can add another layer.

Billable-hour requirements can encourage attorneys to work longer, postpone vacations, sacrifice sleep and remain connected to their offices long after the workday has officially ended.

Add adversarial litigation, demanding clients, court deadlines, financial pressures and professional competition, and the result can be a work environment where exhaustion begins to look like dedication.

There is a dangerous cultural equation hiding underneath that system:

More work = more commitment.

More sacrifice = more professionalism.

Never admitting weakness = strength.

But human beings eventually reach limits.

The question is not whether a lawyer can endure pressure.

The question is what happens when pressure becomes the permanent operating condition.

Perfectionism Is Not the Same as Excellence

This distinction deserves to be printed in large letters:

Perfectionism is not excellence.

Excellence allows room for learning.

Perfectionism often does not.

Excellence recognizes that complex work sometimes produces unexpected outcomes.

Perfectionism interprets unexpected outcomes as evidence of personal inadequacy.

Excellence says:

“How can I improve?”

Perfectionism says:

“How could I have been so stupid?”

One creates growth.

The other can create shame.

And shame is a terrible teacher.

Changing the Culture, Not Just the Individual

The answer cannot simply be telling lawyers to develop better coping skills.

Individual responsibility matters, but institutions matter too.

Law firms, law schools, bar associations and professional organizations have an opportunity to change the culture surrounding mistakes and mental health.

That can begin with something surprisingly simple: talking about it.

Law students should hear that struggling does not mean they do not belong.

Young attorneys should know that asking a question does not make them incompetent.

Senior attorneys should be able to acknowledge mistakes without believing their authority has disappeared.

Law firms should create environments where seeking assistance is treated as responsible professional conduct rather than personal weakness.

And colleagues should learn to recognize when someone who appears highly successful may actually be struggling badly behind the scenes.

A Mistake Is Not a Verdict

Perhaps the most important psychological shift is learning to separate the lawyer from the legal outcome.

A flawed filing does not define a human being.

A lost trial does not define a human being.

A dissatisfied client does not define a human being.

A professional setback does not erase years of knowledge, experience and contribution.

Even serious mistakes must be addressed responsibly. Accountability matters. Ethics matter. Clients deserve competent representation.

But accountability and self-destruction are not the same thing.

A professional can acknowledge an error, repair what can be repaired, learn from it and continue.

That is not weakness.

That is resilience.

Confidential Help Exists

Lawyers and law students do not have to wait until a crisis becomes catastrophic.

Many jurisdictions operate Lawyer Assistance Programs (LAPs) that provide confidential assistance involving mental health, substance use and other issues affecting professional well-being. These programs exist precisely because the legal profession has unique pressures that ordinary workplace resources may not fully understand.

Confidentiality rules and program details vary by jurisdiction, so attorneys should check the specific protections available where they practice.

The broader message, however, is universal:

Getting help is not an admission that you cannot handle the profession.

Sometimes getting help is how you remain capable of handling it.

SDC NEWS ONE | KNOW THIS

You Don't Have to Be Right About Everything to Be Worth Something

The legal system is built around disagreement.

Two attorneys can examine the same evidence and reach different conclusions.

Two judges can interpret complicated legal questions differently.

An appellate court can reverse a lower court.

A Supreme Court can overturn precedent.

The law itself demonstrates that reasonable disagreement exists.

So why should an individual lawyer demand absolute certainty from themselves?

They shouldn't.

The goal is not to eliminate mistakes.

The goal is to create a professional culture where mistakes can be confronted honestly, corrected where possible and learned from without destroying the person who made them.

That may be one of the most important conversations the legal profession can have.

If the Pressure Becomes a Crisis

If you or someone you know in the legal profession feels overwhelmed, trapped, hopeless or at risk of self-harm, do not face the situation alone.

In the United States and Canada, call or text 988 for crisis support.

In the United Kingdom, NHS mental-health support can be accessed through 111, and LawCare provides specialized support for people working in the legal community at 0800 279 6888.

If someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department.

A career can be rebuilt.

A mistake can be addressed.

A professional reputation can sometimes be repaired.

A life cannot be replaced.

The SDC News One Bottom Line

The legal profession has spent centuries developing systems for determining who is right and who is wrong.

Perhaps it is time to become equally sophisticated about something else:

How we treat the human beings who have to live with being wrong sometimes.

The courtroom may demand precision.

The law may demand accountability.

Professional ethics may demand excellence.

But none of those demands require a human being to be perfect.

And sometimes, the most courageous thing an attorney can say is not “I'm right.”

It is:

“I need help.”

You are shedding light on a critically important, painful, and often hidden crisis within the legal industry. While there may not be a formal medical diagnosis explicitly named the "right syndrome," your description perfectly captures the toxic intersection of maladaptive perfectionism, a low tolerance for mistakes, and the extreme high-stakes pressure that defines legal culture. [1, 2, 3, 4]

In law, being "right" is treated as the baseline requirement, and the psychological fallout when things go "left" can indeed be devastating. [2, 4]

The "Always Right" Paradox & Maladaptive Perfectionism

The legal profession uniquely attracts and rewards a mindset where errors are unacceptable. This dynamic manifests in several destructive ways: [1, 5]
  • The Zero-Error Mindset: Lawyers are trained to anticipate the worst-case scenarios, spot every microscopic flaw, and present infallible arguments. This makes it incredibly difficult to separate professional performance from personal self-worth. [6, 7]
  • Maladaptive Perfectionism: Studies, including reports on Lawyer Perfectionism and Well-Being, show that attorneys suffer from perfectionism at rates far exceeding the general public. When "perfect" is the only acceptable metric, any mistake feels like a total identity collapse rather than a routine career hurdle. [2, 4, 8, 9]
  • Imposter Syndrome: Because lawyers are expected to be the ultimate authority figures, up to 80% of legal professionals report experiencing imposter syndrome. They live in constant fear of being "exposed" as incompetent, creating an isolated bubble of anxiety. [6, 10]

When Things Go "Left": The Dangerous Escalation

When a mistake happens—such as missing a critical deadline, losing a career-defining case, or facing disciplinary review—the internal narrative can rapidly spiral. [11]
  • Extreme Stress Escalation: Research published by the California Lawyers Association shows that lawyers experiencing high stress are 22 times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts than those with low stress. [12]
  • Isolation and "Overcommitment": Legal culture heavily encourages work overcommitment and a "win at all costs" mentality. When a crisis hits, lawyers frequently internalize the failure silently, refusing to delegate or ask for help out of shame. This severe loneliness acts as a massive predictor of suicide risk. [3, 4, 12, 13, 14]
  • The "Canary in the Coal Mine": The structural demands of billable hours, adversarial conflict, and hyper-vigilance mean that when a lawyer's mental health breaks, it breaks severely. [15]

Changing the Narrative

Recognizing that this "always right" expectation is an unsustainable illusion is the first step toward breaking the cycle. Overcoming this mindset requires shifting how the profession views failure:
  1. Separating Persona from Profession: A flawed motion or a lost trial is an event, not a definition of your humanity. [1]
  2. Utilizing Confidential Resources: Almost every jurisdiction features a Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP), which offers completely confidential mental health and substance use resources tailored specifically to the unique pressures of the legal field.
  3. Destigmatizing Vulnerability: Normalizing conversations around mistakes, burnout, and mental health within law firms and schools is crucial to letting struggling practitioners know they are not alone. [1, 5]
If you, a colleague, or a loved one in the legal field are feeling overwhelmed, trapped by the pressure, or having thoughts of self-harm, please know that you do not have to carry this burden in isolation. Confidential support is available 24/7: [16]
  • In the US and Canada: Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
  • In the UK: Call 111 to reach the NHS mental health services, or contact LawCare at 0800 279 6888 for dedicated, peer-led legal support.
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Monday, August 31, 2026

When an Honest Mistake Becomes a Serious Matter

SDC News One | Monday Style Educational Read

When Is a Mistake Really an Honest Mistake?



Understanding the difference between human error, negligence, and intentional deception

There is a phrase people use all the time when something goes wrong: “It was an honest mistake.”

Sometimes, that is exactly what it was.

People forget things. They misread instructions. They type the wrong number. They grab the wrong folder. They remember yesterday's information while believing it is still current today. Under the right circumstances, an ordinary human error can happen to almost anybody.

But there is an important question hiding inside those three words:

Was it really an honest mistake?

That question matters because not every mistake is an honest mistake. A person can make an error without intending to cause harm, yet still be negligent. Someone can knowingly ignore a warning and then call the resulting problem a mistake. And in more serious circumstances, a person can deliberately provide false information and later attempt to disguise the deception as an innocent error.

Understanding the difference requires looking not only at what happened, but also at what the person knew, what they intended, what they did afterward, and whether they had a reasonable opportunity to correct the problem.

That is where the phrase “honest mistake” becomes much more meaningful.

The Basic Meaning of an Honest Mistake

An honest mistake is generally understood as an unintentional error made in good faith.

In other words, the person was not deliberately trying to deceive anyone.

They believed they were doing the right thing, following the correct procedure, remembering the correct information, or communicating an accurate fact. They simply got something wrong.

Human beings are imperfect information-processing machines. We forget. We misunderstand. We become distracted. We make assumptions. We rely on information that later turns out to be outdated.

An honest mistake therefore isn't necessarily evidence of dishonesty or bad character.

Imagine a newspaper reporter preparing a story under a tight deadline. The reporter has an official city announcement stating that a parade begins at 10 a.m. The reporter checks the document, sees the 10 a.m. starting time and publishes it.

An hour later, the city changes the parade to 11 a.m.

If the reporter had no reasonable way of knowing about the last-minute change, reporting the original time could be an honest mistake.

The important fact is that the reporter believed the information was correct when it was published.

The Human Factor

Many honest mistakes are remarkably ordinary.

A worker rushing to finish a document can transpose two numbers.

A person can accidentally type the wrong date.

An employee can misunderstand a complicated instruction.

Someone can send an email to the wrong “John” because an autocomplete feature selected the wrong contact.

A referee can enforce an old rule because the league changed its regulations during the offseason.

A homeowner can trip over a rug and break an expensive vase.

None of these events automatically tells us anything about the person's character.

The mistake itself is only the beginning of the analysis.

The bigger question is why the mistake happened.

Workplace Mistakes: Deadlines, Fatigue and Confusing Instructions

The workplace is fertile ground for ordinary human error.

Employees routinely work under deadlines. They receive large quantities of information, switch between tasks and sometimes operate complicated computer systems.

Consider a new employee who is told to complete a software procedure using a training manual.

The manual contains ambiguous instructions.

The employee follows those instructions exactly as they understand them, but the procedure is performed incorrectly.

Was the employee dishonest?

Not necessarily.

If the employee genuinely attempted to follow the company's instructions and had no reason to believe those instructions were wrong, the resulting error may be an honest mistake.

That doesn't necessarily mean there are no consequences.

The company may still have to correct the problem. The employee may need additional training. The procedure itself may need to be rewritten.

An honest mistake can still produce a very real problem.

Intent and consequences are separate questions.

A Mistake Doesn't Automatically Mean No Responsibility

This is one of the most important distinctions.

Saying “I didn't mean to do it” does not automatically mean “I'm not responsible for what happened.”

Imagine someone is driving while distracted and accidentally hits another vehicle.

The collision may have been unintentional.

But depending on the circumstances, the driver's conduct could still be considered negligent.

That is different from intentionally crashing into someone.

The same basic distinction appears in many areas of life.

Honest mistake:

“I misunderstood the instruction and did the wrong thing.”

Negligence:

“I didn't intend the result, but I failed to take reasonable care.”

Intentional deception:

“I knew the information was false but presented it as true anyway.”

Those are three very different situations.

The Difference Between an Honest Mistake and Negligence

This distinction becomes especially important in workplaces, business disputes and legal matters.

An honest mistake generally centers on good-faith error.

Negligence generally involves a failure to exercise the level of care that the circumstances reasonably required.

For example, suppose an employee accidentally enters the wrong account number into a system.

If the employee carefully checked the number but accidentally transposed two digits, that may look very different from an employee who was specifically instructed to verify the number but deliberately skipped the verification step.

Neither employee necessarily intended the resulting problem.

But their conduct may be viewed differently.

The question becomes:

What should a reasonable person have done under the circumstances?

That is why calling something an “honest mistake” does not end an investigation.

It begins one.

The Most Important Clue May Be What Happened Afterwards

Sometimes the clearest evidence of good faith comes after the mistake occurs.

Imagine an employee realizes that they sent an important document to the wrong person.

They immediately notify their supervisor.

They explain what happened.

They attempt to retrieve the document.

They cooperate with efforts to contain the problem.

They don't change their story.

They don't destroy records.

They don't manufacture an explanation.

That behavior can be consistent with someone who genuinely made an accidental mistake.

Now consider a completely different scenario.

A person realizes they provided false information.

Instead of correcting it, they delete evidence, change their explanation, blame somebody else and continue repeating the false story after learning that it is incorrect.

At that point, simply saying “It was an honest mistake” becomes much harder to accept.

The response to an error can tell investigators, employers, courts and ordinary observers a great deal about what actually happened.

Outdated Information Can Create Honest Mistakes

Another common source of confusion is information that was once correct but is no longer correct.

This happens constantly.

Government agencies change procedures.

Companies change policies.

Sports leagues change rules.

Cities change event schedules.

Websites get updated.

Prices change.

Phone numbers change.

People move.

Laws and regulations can change.

Imagine a sports referee who memorized a rule several years ago.

During the offseason, the league changes that rule.

The referee doesn't see the updated handbook and applies the old rule during a game.

The call may be wrong.

But if the referee genuinely believed the old rule remained in effect, the error could be an honest mistake.

The lesson is important:

Being wrong is not automatically the same thing as lying.

The Kitchen Cabinet Test

Sometimes the simplest examples make the concept easiest to understand.

Imagine two identical kitchen containers.

One contains sugar.

The other contains salt.

Neither container is labeled.

A person reaches into the cabinet while preparing cookies and grabs what they believe is sugar.

The cookies come out of the oven tasting like something designed to punish a child.

Was the baker trying to ruin the cookies?

Probably not.

It was a mistake.

Now change one detail.

Suppose the person knows perfectly well which container contains salt but deliberately tells someone else that it is sugar.

That is no longer merely a mix-up.

The physical action may look identical from the outside—someone put the wrong ingredient into the cookies—but the knowledge and intent are different.

That distinction is at the heart of understanding mistakes.

When an Honest Mistake Becomes a Serious Matter

Not every honest mistake is harmless.

A typo in a birthday invitation is one thing.

A typo in a financial document can be something else entirely.

A scheduling mistake involving lunch may be inconvenient.

A scheduling mistake involving surgery, aviation, emergency response or a court hearing can have significant consequences.

That is why professional organizations create procedures designed to reduce human error.

Checklists exist for a reason.

Verification systems exist for a reason.

Two-person reviews exist for a reason.

Warnings exist for a reason.

Documentation exists for a reason.

The goal isn't to pretend humans never make mistakes.

The goal is to catch mistakes before they become disasters.

The Four Questions That Matter

When someone claims that something was an honest mistake, four basic questions can help clarify the situation.

1. What did the person actually believe?

Did they genuinely believe the information or action was correct at the time?

2. What did they know at the time?

Did they possess information that should have alerted them that something was wrong?

3. What was their intent?

Were they trying to deceive, conceal, manipulate or cause harm?

Or were they sincerely attempting to accomplish a legitimate task?

4. What did they do after discovering the mistake?

Did they promptly correct it?

Did they cooperate?

Did they acknowledge the error?

Or did they attempt to conceal what happened?

These questions don't magically solve every dispute, but they provide a much better framework than simply asking whether somebody “made a mistake.”

A Mistake, a Lie and a Cover-Up Are Not the Same Thing

There is another important distinction worth remembering.

A person can make an honest mistake and later make another mistake while trying to explain it.

That doesn't automatically prove the original mistake was intentional.

Memory is imperfect. People become nervous. They can misremember dates, conversations and sequences of events.

But deliberate concealment is a different matter.

If somebody knowingly creates a false explanation after discovering the truth, the issue may no longer be the original error.

The issue becomes the subsequent conduct.

That is why investigations often examine timelines, documents, communications, records and statements rather than relying exclusively on someone's description of their intentions.

The Newsroom Lesson

For journalists, the concept carries particular importance.

News organizations can get facts wrong.

A name can be misspelled.

A number can be transposed.

A date can be incorrect.

An old photograph can be accidentally paired with a new story.

A source can provide information that later proves inaccurate.

Responsible journalism doesn't require pretending mistakes never happen.

It requires correcting mistakes when they are discovered.

A correction is not necessarily an admission of dishonesty.

In many circumstances, it is evidence of responsible journalism.

The public deserves accurate information, and news organizations have a responsibility to fix the record when they get something wrong.

The Legal World Is More Complicated

The phrase “honest mistake” can also appear in legal discussions, but readers should be careful.

A person's personal belief that something was an honest mistake does not necessarily determine the legal outcome.

Different areas of law use different standards involving intent, knowledge, recklessness, negligence, reliance, reasonable care and other concepts.

Something can be accidental and still create legal liability.

Something can be negligent without being intentionally dishonest.

And intentional deception can carry consequences far beyond an ordinary mistake.

So when a dispute becomes a legal matter, the phrase “honest mistake” should not be treated as a magic legal shield.

Facts and applicable law matter.

The Bottom Line

Everybody makes mistakes.

The real issue is not whether human beings are capable of getting things wrong. They are.

The real issue is what kind of mistake occurred and what the person knew, intended and did about it.

An honest mistake is generally an error made in good faith.

Negligence involves failing to exercise reasonable care.

Intentional deception involves knowingly presenting something false or misleading.

Those distinctions can sometimes be separated by only a few facts—but those facts can make all the difference.

The next time somebody says, “It was just an honest mistake,” don't automatically believe it.

But don't automatically assume they are lying, either.

Look at the evidence.

What did they know?

What did they believe?

What were they expected to do?

Was there a reasonable opportunity to prevent the error?

And perhaps most importantly:

What did they do once they realized something had gone wrong?

That is where the difference between an ordinary human mistake and something more serious often begins to reveal itself.

SDC NEWS ONE | EDUCATIONAL TAKEAWAY

An honest mistake is not the same thing as being wrong.

A person can be completely wrong and still be acting honestly.

A person can cause harm without intending to cause it.

A person can be careless without being deliberately deceptive.

And a person can intentionally deceive while later calling the deception a mistake.

The words matter because intent matters.

In everyday life, the fairest approach is neither to excuse every error nor to treat every error as evidence of wrongdoing.

Instead, ask the fundamental question:

Was this a genuine mistake made in good faith—or was “mistake” simply the explanation offered after someone was caught?

Sometimes the answer is obvious.

Sometimes it isn't.

And when the stakes are high, that's precisely why evidence, documentation, timelines and careful investigation matter.

If you'd like, I can also turn this into a hard-hitting SDC News One “Word of the Week” Sunday edition with a sharper investigative angle on how “honest mistake” gets used in politics, business, law enforcement and the media.An honest mistake is an unintentional error made in good faith, where there is no hidden motive, malice, or intent to deceive. The person fully believed they were doing the right thing, following the correct procedure, or stating an accurate fact, but simply got it wrong. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Unlike a "dishonest mistake" or fraud, it stems from human limitations like forgetfulness, a lack of updated information, or a physical slip-up—not from a lack of character. [4, 5]
Here are everyday examples broken down by category:

Workplace and Corporate Errors

Professional blunders often happen due to tight deadlines, fatigue, or confusing documentation. [3, 6]
  • Typographical slips: A writer accidentally mistyping a date or misspelling a client's name because they are rushing to meet a publication deadline. [3, 7]
  • Accidental scheduling: Agreeing to a 2:00 PM meeting with a colleague, completely forgetting that you booked a doctor's appointment during that exact hour last week. [3]
  • Misinterpreting manuals: A new hire executing a software process incorrectly because the training manual instructions were ambiguous or poorly written. [3, 6]
  • Sending to the wrong contact: Autocomplete filling in the wrong "John" in your email address bar, causing a non-confidential message to go to an external acquaintance instead of your coworker. [8]

Everyday Life and Household Slips

Many honest mistakes happen at home or during routine daily tasks simply because two things look or feel similar. [5, 6]
  • Mixing up ingredients: A grandmother accidentally baking cookies with a cup of salt instead of sugar because both white powders are kept in identical, unlabeled kitchen canisters.
  • Accidental damage: Tripping on a raised rug corner and knocking over a friend’s vase while walking through their living room.
  • Grabbing the wrong item: Hurrying out of the house in the morning and grabbing your sibling's homework folder off the counter because it looks identical to your own.
  • Mixing up lookalikes: A teacher calling a student by their older brother's name because the two siblings look strikingly similar and sat in the same classroom years prior. [1, 5, 7, 9]

Sharing Outdated Information

Sometimes we share incorrect facts with absolute confidence because we genuinely do not know the data has changed. [6, 7]
  • Outdated press releases: A news anchor reporting that a local parade starts at 10:00 AM based on an official press packet, unaware that the city updated the start time to 11:00 AM on their website an hour prior. [7]
  • Expired rulebooks: An amateur sports referee penalizing a player based on a rule they memorized years ago, completely unaware that the league updated the official handbook over the off-season. [6]
  • Is this mistake related to a legal issue, a workplace conflict, or a personal relationship?
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Saturday, August 29, 2026

The death of Nolan Xavier Wells - When a Death Is Ruled a Drowning - What Happens If Multiple Insurers Are Involved?

 

SDC News One | Insurance & Accountability

When a Death Is Ruled a Drowning: How Insurance Companies Evaluate Claims While a Criminal Investigation Continues

By SDC News One

The death of Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old Ocean Springs, Mississippi native and Southwest Mississippi Community College football player, has raised difficult questions about what happens financially and legally after a young person dies under circumstances that remain under investigation.

According to the information provided to SDC News One, Wells died sometime between July 4 and July 6, 2026, after disappearing during a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island. Authorities have publicly treated the death as a drowning, while the Ocean Springs, Mississippi, District Attorney's Office has opened a criminal investigation.

That distinction matters.

A medical or law-enforcement determination that someone drowned does not necessarily answer every question surrounding how, when, or why the drowning occurred. And when insurance claims begin arriving, insurers must make their own coverage and liability determinations based on the policies, available evidence and applicable law.

Insurance Does Not Conduct a Criminal Trial

One of the most important things to understand is that an insurance company is not a criminal court.

An insurer generally asks a different set of questions:

  • Does the policy provide coverage?

  • Who is legally entitled to receive payment?

  • What caused the loss?

  • Is the cause of death excluded under the policy?

  • Was the policy active when the incident occurred?

  • Is there evidence of negligence or another insured liability?

  • Is another insurance policy potentially responsible?

  • Has the amount of the claim been established?

The insurer's investigation can therefore continue even while detectives, prosecutors and the medical examiner are pursuing a completely different set of questions.

If the cause or circumstances of death remain disputed, an insurance company may place a claim under investigation rather than immediately paying or denying it.

What Happens When a Claim Is Filed After a Death?

The process usually begins when someone gives the insurance company notice of the claim.

Depending upon the type of insurance involved, the claimant may be required to provide documentation such as a death certificate, policy information, medical records, accident reports, photographs, witness information and other evidence.

The insurer then determines whether the person making the claim is actually covered and whether the particular loss falls within the policy.

For life insurance, the process can be relatively straightforward when the policy is active and the cause of death is undisputed.

For liability insurance, however, the process can become considerably more complicated.

An insurer may have to determine whether its insured person or organization could legally be responsible for the death.

That is where the Wells case could become particularly complicated if multiple parties ultimately submit claims.

There May Be Several Different Insurance Claims

It is important not to assume that there is one giant "Nolan Wells insurance claim."

There could potentially be several separate insurance policies, each governed by different contracts and legal standards.

1. Life Insurance

If Wells had a life-insurance policy through his family, school, employer or another organization, the beneficiary generally submits a claim to the life insurer.

The company verifies the policy and investigates the death when necessary.

The insurer may request the official death certificate and other records.

If there is an unresolved criminal investigation, the insurer may wait for additional information before making a final determination, particularly if the circumstances could affect coverage.

2. School or Athletic Coverage

Student-athletes can potentially be covered by various types of insurance or institutional policies, depending upon the school and the circumstances.

That does not automatically mean an athletic department's insurance policy would pay simply because Wells was a football player.

The actual policy language controls.

Questions could include whether the policy covers accidental death, whether the incident occurred during a covered activity, who qualifies as an insured person, and whether exclusions apply.

The school may also have separate liability coverage that has nothing to do with a life-insurance benefit payable to Wells' family.

Those are two very different things.

3. Homeowners or Renters Liability Insurance

A person's homeowners or renters policy can sometimes provide liability protection if the insured becomes legally responsible for another person's injury or death.

But again, the policy does not simply pay because a death occurred.

There generally must be a covered claim involving the insured's potential legal liability.

4. Commercial or Property Insurance

If a business, hotel, marina, recreational facility, boat operator or other commercial entity becomes involved in a wrongful-death claim, its commercial general liability policy could potentially become relevant.

The insurer would investigate whether its policyholder was negligent or otherwise legally responsible.

For example, investigators might examine issues such as:

Was the property reasonably safe? Were warnings provided? Was required safety equipment available? Was supervision required? Did an employee violate safety procedures?

Those are liability questions—not simply questions about whether someone drowned.

What If Law Enforcement Is Named in a Claim?

This is another area where the public should be careful.

Law-enforcement agencies and governmental entities can have different forms of liability protection, including governmental self-insurance, risk pools, commercial insurance or other arrangements.

Whether a claim can actually be brought against a particular agency, officer or governmental entity depends heavily upon Mississippi law, federal law, governmental immunity rules and the specific facts.

An insurance company cannot simply decide that a governmental agency owes money and write a check.

There must be a legal and contractual basis for payment.

If a lawsuit alleges negligence, constitutional violations or another form of liability, the government entity and its insurer may investigate and defend the claim.

The Criminal Investigation Changes the Landscape

The reported criminal investigation surrounding Wells' death adds another layer.

An insurer investigating a claim may want access to information that investigators are not prepared to release publicly.

That could include:

  • autopsy findings;

  • toxicology results;

  • photographs;

  • witness interviews;

  • 911 calls;

  • dispatch records;

  • surveillance footage;

  • cellphone information;

  • boating or maritime records;

  • forensic reports; and

  • other investigative evidence.

But an insurer does not necessarily have unlimited access to an active criminal investigation.

Investigators may withhold evidence to protect the integrity of the case.

That can create a situation in which an insurance company cannot immediately make a final determination because critical evidence has not yet become available.

Could an Insurance Company Pay Before a Criminal Case Ends?

Yes, potentially.

An insurance claim and a criminal prosecution are separate proceedings.

An insurer does not necessarily have to wait for an arrest, indictment or conviction before resolving a claim.

Likewise, an insurer may decide that it needs additional evidence before accepting or denying responsibility.

In some circumstances, the parties may negotiate a settlement even while other aspects of the case remain unresolved.

But an insurer must still comply with the applicable policy and insurance laws. It cannot simply invent a reason to delay payment indefinitely.

What Does "Settling" Actually Mean?

When an insurance company settles a claim, it is generally agreeing to pay a specified amount in exchange for a legal resolution of the claim, often including a release of liability.

Imagine, for example, that a wrongful-death lawsuit alleges that an insured business was responsible for Wells' death.

The insurer might initially investigate the allegation.

If the insurer believes there is substantial exposure, it could negotiate with the Wells family's attorneys.

Suppose the parties eventually agree to a settlement.

The settlement might require the insurer to pay a negotiated amount, while the claimant agrees to release specified parties from further civil liability covered by the settlement.

That does not mean the insurer has determined that a crime occurred.

And a civil settlement does not automatically establish criminal responsibility.

The Big Question: Who Is Actually Responsible?

This is where insurance investigations can become complicated.

Imagine several possible theories emerge during an investigation.

One theory says the death was an accidental drowning.

Another alleges negligence.

Another alleges that someone else caused or contributed to the circumstances leading to the drowning.

Those different theories could trigger completely different insurance questions.

An insurer might therefore hire claims investigators, attorneys, medical experts, accident reconstruction specialists or other professionals to determine what actually happened.

The company is essentially trying to answer:

"Under our contract, based upon the evidence currently available, do we owe this claim—and if so, how much?"

That is fundamentally different from asking:

"Did somebody commit a crime?"

Why the Death Certificate Matters—But Isn't the Whole Story

A death certificate is an important document in an insurance investigation, particularly for life-insurance claims.

But the cause of death listed on a death certificate does not necessarily resolve every potential civil-liability question.

Someone can die from drowning, for example, while a separate legal dispute asks whether another person's negligence contributed to the drowning.

The medical cause of death and the legal cause of liability are therefore not necessarily identical.

That distinction is crucial.

"Drowning" describes the mechanism of death. It does not, by itself, answer every question about the circumstances surrounding the death.

What Happens If Multiple Insurers Are Involved?

Multiple insurance policies can create another complicated situation.

Different insurers may argue over which policy applies first, whether another insurer shares responsibility, or whether certain damages are covered.

This can involve concepts such as primary coverage, excess coverage, contribution and subrogation, depending on the circumstances and the policies involved.

The family may also have claims that are completely separate from insurance—for example, a wrongful-death claim against an individual or organization.

In that situation, insurance may ultimately provide some or all of the money used to resolve the civil claim, depending upon available coverage.

SDC News One Legal-Education Note

The public should be cautious about turning unanswered questions into established facts.

At this point, based on the information presented to SDC News One, Wells' death has been characterized as a drowning, while a criminal investigation is reportedly underway.

That does not establish that Wells was murdered.

It also does not establish that no criminal conduct occurred.

Those questions belong to investigators and, if criminal charges are eventually filed, the courts.

The same principle applies to insurance.

An insurance company settling a claim would not, by itself, prove criminal wrongdoing. Conversely, an insurer delaying or denying a claim would not prove that no wrongdoing occurred.

Insurance decisions are contractual and civil matters. Criminal responsibility requires a separate legal process.

The Bottom Line

The Wells case demonstrates why the aftermath of a suspicious or disputed death can involve several parallel investigations.

Law enforcement asks:
Was a crime committed, and can someone be held criminally responsible?

The medical examiner asks:
What caused the death?

The insurance company asks:
Does our policy cover this loss, and are we legally obligated to pay?

A civil court asks:
Has a legally responsible party been established, and what damages are owed?

Those questions can overlap, but they are not interchangeable.

As the investigation into Nolan Xavier Wells' death continues, insurance companies potentially involved in the matter will have to examine their policies, the evidence and the applicable law before deciding whether claims should be paid, denied, negotiated or litigated.

And for the Wells family, the most important issue may ultimately remain the same one confronting investigators:

What happened to Nolan Wells between the Fourth of July and the discovery of his body—and does the evidence tell the complete story?

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