ABSTRACT
The need for a medical opinion is a daily requirement of those who work in the field of compensation for personal injury. In disputes between employers and employees, the doctor may be asked to decide whether the employee is fit for work and, if not, whether he is likely to be able to return in the foreseeable future. Doctors also regularly appear in criminal courts to give an account of the victim’s injuries or to advise on the time and cause of injury. They may be asked for an opinion on the mental state of a person accused of crime. In other areas, they may be drawn into a case where relatives doubt the validity of a will signed by a testator who was allegedly incompetent, or they may become involved in child care cases. In a growing number of cases, it is the doctor who stands accused of negligence and must rely on other doctors to support what he has done, or omitted to do. This chapter will centre on medicolegal reports requested by a lawyer in a case of personal injury arising out of a work-related accident or disease and will then deal with the role of the expert medical witness appearing in a court of law.
