Professionalism in court

Abstract

SummaryServing as an expert witness can be a rewarding experience. It affords the neurologist the opportunity to contribute expertise to the legal system's pursuit of justice and benefits the public interest. However, serving as an expert witness without understanding and incorporating relevant professional and specialty guidelines concerning expert witness testimony can place the neurologist at risk. The American Academy of Neurology has established standards governing expert witness testimony and a disciplinary process to respond to complaints of violation of its standards. Increased understanding of and adherence to these qualifications and guidelines, coupled with an awareness of how the legal system differs from clinical practice, will better equip neurologists serving as expert witnesses and minimize their professional risk when doing so.

New Rules on Patient’s Safety and Professional Liability for the Italian Health Service

“…According to the Black's Law Dictionary, an expert witness is one '"qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education to provide a scientific, technical, or other specialized opinion about the evidence or a fact issue [87]. Law and medicine speak a different language [88], since medicine seeks to heal the sick by applying scientific knowledge pertaining to health and disease, while the law aims to resolve disputes in accordance with standards and rules that derive from legislation or prior judicial decisions [89].…”