Meadow should never have been brought before the GMC

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7539.439

BMJ 2006;332:439 (25 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7539.439

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Meadow should never have been brought before the GMC

Clare Dyer, legal correspondent

BMJ

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

Doctors and other expert witnesses who give their evidence honestlyand in good faith are immune from disciplinary proceedings overanything they say in court, a senior judge at the High Courtin London ruled in a ground breaking judgment last week.

Mr Justice Collins held that Roy Meadow, the retired paediatricianwho was found guilty of serious professional misconduct andwas ordered to be struck off the medical register last yearfor his role in the Sally Clark murder trial, should never evenhave been brought before the General Medical Council (BMJ 2005;331:177[Free Full Text]).

The ruling makes new law by extending to action by regulatorsthe longstanding immunity from civil actions over their evidencethat witnesses in court cases enjoy.

The judge said that regulators such as the GMC could take actiononly if a complaint about an expert witness was referred bya . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

Dyer, C. (2006). Regulatory bodies can discipline expert witnesses. BMJ 333: 933-933 [Full text]
Dyer, C. (2006). Attorney general is to intervene in case of expert witness immunity.. BMJ 332: 1229-1229 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

FPP should resign: david baker
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2006 [Full text]
Broader implications of the Sally Clark case: Tim J Cole, et al.
bmj.com, 24 Feb 2006 [Full text]
The GMC - working against doctors: ted willis
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2006 [Full text]
Dwindling confidence in GMC: William H Konarzewski
bmj.com, 1 Mar 2006 [Full text]
Medical experts and their reliability.: Brian Morgan
bmj.com, 4 Mar 2006 [Full text]
Fighting Appeals with Members' Money: Jay Ilangaratne
bmj.com, 4 Mar 2006 [Full text]
Blanket immunity for expert witnesses is dangerous.: Steven Ford
bmj.com, 8 Mar 2006 [Full text]
Meadow should be disciplined: Richard Robinson
bmj.com, 22 Jul 2006 [Full text]
The principal outstanding concern of the Sally Clark case.: Ivor T Rowlands
bmj.com, 26 Aug 2006 [Full text]
Meadow should never have been brought before the GMC: C Frank Lockyer
bmj.com, 15 Sep 2006 [Full text]