The Courts and the Doctor

The virtual elimination of traditional forensic medicine from the undergraduate medical curriculum means that doctors often graduate having had minimal exposure to the influence of the law on medical practice. Yet some aspects of this are unavoidable and, in particular, no doctor can assume that he or she will never be required to give evidence in court. Medical evidence in the lower courts is increasingly being given in written form. As a result, the doctor's first appearance in the witness box may well be in the Crown Court or the High Court - indeed it may well be that the witness' own professional conduct is under scrutiny. Such an appearance may be disturbing to some; to others, the legal process may seem to border on the absurd. In either event, prior understanding is likely to result in an improved quality of evidence. This book seeks to provide some of the information which may help the inexperienced witness, be he anything from a simple witness as to fact, to a senior consultant engaged as an expert in civil litigation. The authors have combined some relatively theoretical background to the legal process with practical advice - much of which is based on their own fortunes and misfortunes. It cannot be denied that medical and scientific evidence has come in for some criticism recently. The objective sought is to improve its quality through an understanding of the systems of justice.