The medical officers are reguired to examine and treat the medicolegal cases brought or referred to them during the course of their duty. Apart from the management part, the proper documentation of the findings is vital for the administration of justice in the case. As per the feedback from the police and the court, many reports are inadequately prepared below the standards expected from an MBBS doctor. There are various underlying reasons like inadequate exposure, work overload etc. But there is no excuse for avoiding the medicolegal cases and not documenting the findings, as it amounts to destruction of evidence and negligence on the part of doctor. We have tried here to provide a basic guidline for identifying the medicolegal cases and proper documentation of the findings.
Medicolegal, Expert opinion, Evidence, Expert witness
