Doctors must stay within their competence when giving evidence
BMJ 2007; 334 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39118.342095.DB (Published 08 February 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;334:276- Clare Dyer, legal correspondent
- 1BMJ
Doctors acting as expert witnesses in court must ensure that they stay within the limits of their professional competence, says draft guidance from the UK General Medical Council.
The guidance follows controversy over the role of the retired paediatrician Roy Meadow in giving misleading statistical evidence in the case of Sally Clark, a solicitor convicted of murdering her two baby sons and later freed on appeal.
Professor Meadow gave evidence that proved to be wrong at Mrs Clark's trial in 1999 about the risk of two cot deaths in a family like hers even …
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