Abstract

ASO ESCARIO, J.. Bioethics of Medical Expert-Witness Activity. Cuad. med. forense [online]. 2009, n.56, pp.105-117. ISSN 1988-611X.

Bioethics involves the entire medical activity, becoming, in recent years, a crucial factor in evaluating medical matters such as publications, conferences, articles, and clinical cases analysis. Nevertheless, expert-witness testimony is sheldomly included in Bioethic discussions, despite the important problems that arise from medical testimonies in tribunals. Factors as expert qualification, bias, error, confidentiality, conflict between clinical and expert activities, are among the main potential subjects of Ethical discussion. In Spain in particular, there is a lack of regulation in these matters, determining important consequences mainly in professional responsability judgement cases. The present paper tries to review the Spanish situation, compared to abroad positions, and enphasize the need of a more extensive legal, professional but mainly ethical regulation of medical expert testimony in court in Spain.

Keywords : Bioethics; Expert-witness testimony; liability; negligence; forensic; medico-legal.

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