You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Annotation
Pretrial liaison between doctors in alleged child abuse
  1. T J DAVID, Professor of Child Health and Paediatrics
  1. University of Manchester
  2. Honorary Consultant Paediatrician, Booth Hall Children’s Hospital
  3. Blackley, Manchester M9 7AA, UK
  4. Priory Chambers, 2 Fountain Court
  5. Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6DR, UK
  6. 1 Kings Bench Walk
  7. Temple, London EC4Y 7DB, UK
  1. Professor T J David, University Department of Child Health, Booth Hall Children’s Hospital, Charlestown Road, Blackley, Manchester M9 7AA, UK. email: tim.david{at}dial.pipex.com
  1. D A HERSHMAN, Barrister at Law
  1. University of Manchester
  2. Honorary Consultant Paediatrician, Booth Hall Children’s Hospital
  3. Blackley, Manchester M9 7AA, UK
  4. Priory Chambers, 2 Fountain Court
  5. Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6DR, UK
  6. 1 Kings Bench Walk
  7. Temple, London EC4Y 7DB, UK
  1. Professor T J David, University Department of Child Health, Booth Hall Children’s Hospital, Charlestown Road, Blackley, Manchester M9 7AA, UK. email: tim.david{at}dial.pipex.com
  1. A E MCFARLANE, Barrister at Law
  1. University of Manchester
  2. Honorary Consultant Paediatrician, Booth Hall Children’s Hospital
  3. Blackley, Manchester M9 7AA, UK
  4. Priory Chambers, 2 Fountain Court
  5. Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6DR, UK
  6. 1 Kings Bench Walk
  7. Temple, London EC4Y 7DB, UK
  1. Professor T J David, University Department of Child Health, Booth Hall Children’s Hospital, Charlestown Road, Blackley, Manchester M9 7AA, UK. email: tim.david{at}dial.pipex.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.79.3.205

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Few things are more likely to cause the heart to sink than a call to say that one will be needed for court in care proceedings. Parents may be fighting to keep not only the injured child but possibly other siblings and unborn children. The doctor caught up in all this, whether paediatrician, surgeon, psychiatrist, pathologist or general practitioner, can be sure that any opinions will be exposed to the closest scrutiny. The prospect of days wasted, turning up to find the case settled, postponed or cancelled, not to mention the time actually spent giving evidence, is an added cause for gloom. A recent development, that of meetings between experts—although designed primarily to smooth the process of the legal proceedings—also brings the prospect of reducing or obviating the need to attend court, and thus a considerable saving in time and stress.

    Disagreement and misunderstandings are common

    Doctors may not always agree on aspects of individual cases of alleged abuse, especially if they happen to be instructed by different parties to the proceedings, where they may be privy to information not put before the court from their instructing party. Even when they do agree, attention to detail by a legal eye opens up the prospect for disagreement, real or apparent. In the past, doctors advising different parties in such cases were discouraged or actually disallowed from discussing the case with one another. This could sometimes lead to days being spent in court, discussing all aspects of the medical …

    View Full Text