Published 25 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a989
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a989

News

GMC issues guidance for expert witnesses

¹ BMJ

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

The General Medical Council has given doctors guidance on their duties when acting as expert witnesses in an attempt to allay fears that the role is a minefield in which a misstep could land them in trouble with regulators.

The GMC points out that doctors who give evidence in court are bound by the principles of good practice laid down in its core guidance Good Medical Practice. The latest guidance, Acting as an Expert Witness, expands on those principles and clarifies their application to a doctor giving expert evidence in a court or tribunal.

The guidance says expert witnesses must:

• Recognise their over-riding duty to the court and to the administration of justice
  
• Give opinion and evidence within the limits of their professional competence
  
• Keep up to date in their specialist area of practice
  
• Explain where there are a range of views on a particular question
  
• Take appropriate . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Related Articles

Three doctors and a GMC prosecution

Jonathan Gornall
BMJ 2008 337: a907. [Extract] [Full Text]

Acting as an expert witness

Graeme Catto
BMJ 2008 337: a933. [Extract] [Full Text]

Doctors in court

Clare Dyer
BMJ 2008 337: a975. [Extract] [Full Text]

Sally Clark freed after appeal court quashes her convictions

Clare Dyer
BMJ 2003 326: 304. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Shurley Shome Mishtake

William Pimm
bmj.com, 28 Jul 2008 [Full text]

Confidence in Child Protection Practice

Patricia Hamilton, et al.
bmj.com, 29 Jul 2008 [Full text]