Medicolegal aspects of automobile injuries.

We have tried to acquaint you with the basic elements of law relevant to the treatment of vehicle-related injury, i.e., the Good Samaritan clause, the definition of liability in surgery, warranty and informed consent. We have listed prophylactic measures to reduce medicolegal problems to a minimum. We have outlined the stepwise development of a court case and your duties to the court. Finally we have detailed special situations that occur in a trial and how to cope with them. In summary, bear in mind that it is natural to be edgy about court appearances. Few of us in medicine, after all, enjoy this kind of thing and to that extent we are truly out of our element. On the other hand, most attorneys, expert though they may be, are out of their element in medicine. That evens the score to a very considerable degree.