Roles and responsibilities of medical expert witnesses

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7512.305

BMJ 2005;331:305-306 (6 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7512.305

Editorial

Roles and responsibilities of medical expert witnesses

Seek training, know the rules, take out insurance, and be rigorouslyimpartial

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

After the erasure from the medical register of Professor SirRoy Meadow on 15 July 2005, doctors acting as expert witnessesmay want to remind themselves of their duties and of what mighthappen if they fail to discharge those duties. Doctors wishingto rise to this challenge would do well to seek training, andmany such courses are advertised on the internet. This editorialdeals principally with the roles and responsibilities of expertsin civil litigation in England and Wales. That said, the principlesare broadly applicable to litigation in the criminal and familycourts and, to varying degrees, to litigation in other jurisdictions.

Expert witnesses can take sage guidance from the judgment ofMr Justice Cresswell in the "Ikarian Reefer."¹ This case involveda Panamanian vessel that ran aground and caught fire; the insurersargued that the vessel was the subject of arson by the owners,and . . . [Full text of this article]

Mark Friston, barrister specialising in clinical negligence and litigation funding

Kings Chambers, Manchester M2 6BA
mfriston@kingschambers.com

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