Medico-legal work is a great opportunity to diversify medical practice by dealing with clinical cases using a different lens. The medico-legal expert needs to have expertise not only in the field of medicine but a complete understanding of complexities related to medical-legal laws is also required. Medico-legal work is an interesting career for health practitioners. They are well respected as expert witnesses by barristers and solicitors for the claimant or defendant.
This blog will explore work is involved in a medico-legal expert’s job, the skills required to become a medico-legal expert and how can one become a medico-legal expert in detail.
What do medico-legal experts do?
Medico-legal experts cover various disciplines like criminal cases, industrial diseases, injuries, medical negligence, child and family laws, personal injury, mental health, employment laws, civil laws, etc. The work of medico-legal experts depends on their specific role, though the work of medico-legal experts may include:
- Writing medico-legal report
- Defending medical negligence claim
- Reviewing statements for submission to solicitors
- Preparing to give evidence as a witness in court
- Acting as an independent expert witness for the claimant
- Preparing liability and causation along with condition and prognosis reports for various cases like traffic accidents, stress, or child abuse.
Which skills are required to become a Medico-legal expert?
The medico-legal expert should have a deep understanding of laws along with clinical experience and medical expertise, along with that there are some more skills which a good medico-legal expert is expected to have:
Good time management
Medico-legal works have varied work hours depending on the case unlike doctor’s shift so medico-legal experts should be good at time management.
Ability to handle emergency legal cases
Urgent legal and ethical situations often occur in medico-legal cases and call for immediate action such as consent issues for life-saving procedures and other ethical issues with a medical background.
Insight into NHS structure
Having insight into NHS structure will help you have a further understanding of daily-based interconnections.
Observation and report writing skills
Writing a medico-legal report is one of the major tasks of a medico-legal expert, so anyone planning to choose it as a career must be aware of report writing, and good clinical observation skills
Good communication skills
The medico-legal expert should have good communication skills to convey the finding precisely and accurately for further legal proceedings.
Good observation skills for the details
Medico-legal work requires a fair investigation of the facts, and as a doctor, you may feel that a particular case resonates with your own experience, but you need to separate your own medical knowledge from your personal opinions. Especially when you are working as an expert witness, you are expected to give fair observation.