Doctors may make mistakes that are less obvious than lawyers' mistakes

doi:10.1136/bmj.310.6995.1671a

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R N Palmer

Secretary and medical director Medical Protection Society, London W1N 6DE

EDITOR,—The sentiments expressed by Jean Ritchie and Sally Davies are laudable but raise two important matters which were not addressed by the authors.1

The authors refer to “mistakes” and to care which has “gone wrong” as though these were invariably self evident. A lawyer's missed deadline for issuing a writ or a motorist's dented vehicle may easily be recognised as evidence of mistake. It will readily be conceded that amputation of the wrong limb or a gross overdose of a …