Book Review

Reviewing Paul David Cantor, Traumatic Medicine and Surgery for the Attorney; Vol. I - The Traumatic Problem, Central Book Co., 195

The Conspiracy of Silence: Physician\u27s View

To many a physican, law suits, courts, and occasionally law- yers themselves are anathema. Schooled in the sciences, his life is dedicated to the practice of medicine. He is a man of conviction and of purpose. He is articulate and even at times loqua- cious. These qualities would lead one to believe that the physician would be well equipped, quite willing, and capable of appearing as an expert witness in a court of law. Quite to the contrary, the physician most generally is unwilling to be a legal witness. In fact, the entire subject of law suits often is repugnant to him

Psychosomatic Disease and the Law

There are fundamental differences between the standard of probabilities in law upon which a jury must deliberate, andthe standard of certainty in the scientific laboratory of medicine which an investigator must respect. This conflict is nowhere more evident than in the field of psychosomatic disease. This area of medicine has long been recognized but it was only in recent years that it has become the target for intense research. This lack of medical interest in what was considered a fringe area has caused the legal profession to substitute law for medicine. Eventually, however, science will progress in the field of psychosomatic medicine to the point where the lawyer will have accurate, objective tests available toshow causation and to evaluate the extent of damages

Court Dictation of Choice of Anesthesia

The Supreme Court of California has extended the interpretation of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur in malpractice cases so that the physician must now be nearly a guarantor of results. And a review of a few recent, specific cases involving anesthesia makes it increasingly evident that they may have far-reaching influence on the practice of anesthesiology

Court Dictation of Choice of Anesthesia

The Supreme Court of California has extended the interpretation of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur in malpractice cases so that the physician must now be nearly a guarantor of results. And a review of a few recent, specific cases involving anesthesia makes it increasingly evident that they may have far-reaching influence on the practice of anesthesiology

Consent to Surgical Procedures

Case law relating to surgical consent is fairly well settled. A review of the numerous decisions on this question can be summed up with a general statement: If the patient freely consults the physician, understands the operation contemplated, enters the hospital, and submits to the operation, consent is implied. This consent to a surgical operation is a privilege that the patient extends to the surgeon to commit trespass to the person

Anesthesiology and the Law - In the Long View

Anesthesiology is the youngest of the medical specialties. Born of surgical parents, it was nurtured through its infancy by well-meaning and dedicated physicians. Even now this specialty is one of the most litigated fields of medicine, rivaling radiology, surgery, and plastic surgery. This, however, is at best a dubious distinction. Considering the nature of the specialty, one can easily understand the reason. In the hands of the anesthesiologist rests the life of every patient undergoing a surgical operation

Psychosomatic Disease and the Law

There are fundamental differences between the standard of probabilities in law upon which a jury must deliberate, andthe standard of certainty in the scientific laboratory of medicine which an investigator must respect. This conflict is nowhere more evident than in the field of psychosomatic disease. This area of medicine has long been recognized but it was only in recent years that it has become the target for intense research. This lack of medical interest in what was considered a fringe area has caused the legal profession to substitute law for medicine. Eventually, however, science will progress in the field of psychosomatic medicine to the point where the lawyer will have accurate, objective tests available toshow causation and to evaluate the extent of damages