Part 3

Sudden death, vital activities preceding, 48

Suicide, threatened or attempted, 54

To escape attending as witness, 13

Vital activities preceding sudden death, 48

Witness, to escape attending as, 13

Witnesses, classes of, 8

Golden Rules of Medical Evidence.

Every legally qualified and registered medical practitioner in actual practice in or near the place where the death in question happened, by the Coroners Act, 1887, may be summoned by the Coroner to give medical evidence as to the cause of that death. Thus medical men may be compelled to practise medical jurisprudence if called upon so to do. With the growth of knowledge and exact observation, the weight which is attached to medical evidence has increased proportionately. It is still true, however, that “the exercise of a sound judgment, which is of far more value in medico-legal matters than all the substance of all the ancient medicina forensis, must be our guide.”

The =Coroner’s Court= differs from other tribunals in that, primarily, it conducts an enquiry to which there are no formal parties. The evidence received by this Court is on that account much less bound by technical rules.

CLASSES OF MEDICAL EVIDENCE AND WITNESSES.

The evidence of

=I. Common witnesses of Facts which they have observed.= They state the minor premiss of the forensic argument. Those who can describe technical matters which they have seen are skilled common witnesses: medical men usually appear in court as skilled witnesses. Job’s “I shall see for myself, and my own eyes shall behold, and not another,” indicates the correct attitude of a common witness of fact.

The testimony of

=II. Expert witnesses concerning their Opinions.= They state the major premiss of the syllogism, whose conclusion is found in the verdict of the jury. All expert witnesses should be skilled witnesses. Experts sometimes become common witnesses when examined as to exhibits produced in court. The weakness of expert testimony is, in practice, its ex parte nature. Medical men called to give evidence as to fact, must beware of being unconsciously drawn into offering expert testimony.

I. PREPARING AND GIVING EVIDENCE.

=A. BEFORE ENTERING COURT.=

Notify directly to the Coroner all deaths, the certificate of the cause of which you are unable to sign (persons found dead—whose death was caused or hastened by accident or injury—who have died without recent medical attendance—who, although attended by a registered medical practitioner during the last illness, have died in such a manner or at such a time, that the medical man is unable to assign a cause of natural death, or for some good reason declines to certify the cause).

Most of the cases in which you give medical evidence are those in which you have declined to sign a certificate of the cause of death.

There are also those cases in which the relatives object to your treatment, and those in which the registrar refers your certificate to the Coroner.

The fact that the account for professional services rendered is likely to be unpaid is =not= a good reason for refusing to sign a death certificate.

=Decline to give medical certificates= to police-constables or to solicitors’ clerks gratuitously, and without authority being shown.

Demand a formal interview by appointment during professional hours with a responsible superior; otherwise you may receive no fees.

Volunteer no private information, and express no opinion in public, concerning medico-legal causes with which you are not personally concerned; otherwise you may be sub-pœna’d to support your views. If you know facts which will aid the execution of justice, give a =hint to the police= either yourself or by a medical friend.

Give information viva voce or in letters marked “private.” Never write an unofficial opinion. “Do right, and don’t write—then fear nothing.”

Should you receive threatening letters, demanding blackmail, or otherwise without reasonable cause, at once put them into a good solicitor’s hands. “Let this action be a lesson for all men to stand boldly forward—to stand on their character—and not, by compromising a present difficulty, to accumulate imputations on their honour.” Associate yourself permanently with a Medical Defence Society.

Unless in self-protection, or at the request of patients, do not appear in court without having been properly served with a formal sub-pœna.

Do not fail to attend after receiving a formally served sub-pœna, on peril of contempt of court and an action for resulting damages on the part of the litigant calling you as a witness. You need not afford a precis of your evidence. “He [or they] must be satisfied with impromptu answers.” When in doubt or difficulty, seek at once the best legal advice possible.

TO ESCAPE ATTENDING AS A WITNESS: