ABSTRACT
This chapter offers maxillofacial surgeons an insight into the legal principles and processes surrounding issues of clinical negligence. An expert witness is a person with a specialised skill or knowledge called upon by a Court of Law to express an opinion. Medical expert witness work encompasses writing Condition & Prognosis reports, which require examination of the claimant who typically has suffered trauma. Surgeons principally face two allegations when faced with a claim brought in negligence. The Mental Capacity Act states that a competent patient will understand and retain the information relevant to the decision, use and weigh that information in the balance and communicate his/her decision by any means. The burden of proof is on the doctor to show that they have warned of a particular risk.
