Expert witnesses: opinion and dogma are pitfalls in medical journalism as well as in reports.

dogma are pitfalls in medical journalism as well as in reports Professor David’s leading article provides a welcome summary of the Code of Guidance for Expert Witnesses in Family Proceedings. All paediatricians who undertake this type of work should be familiar with the Code of Guidance and have due regard to it. However, Professor David also goes on to express some highly personal opinions which, while forcefully argued, are unreferenced and not evidence based. The most obvious example in the article is Professor David’s views on interviewing the parents or carers. He comments that ‘‘a paediatrician who does not attempt to interview the parents risks being criticised for by-passing the usual routines and failing to consider all aspects of the case’’. He goes on to say that paediatricians willing to make a confident diagnosis of abuse without ever meeting the parents risk making parents exceptionally aggrieved, alluding to recent press publicity. The undersigned are all experienced in the field of child protection and between us have considerable experience of expert witness work. In our experience, a substantial proportion of Expert Witness Reports are prepared on the basis of a paper review. This has hitherto been regarded as perfectly sound medical practice, which is not explicitly discouraged in any of the published Expert Witness guidance. We would suggest that Professor David’s views should not be accepted unquestioningly, and that this issue should be debated openly. It is undeniable that treating paediatricians need to take a good history from parents, carers or others, especially where child abuse is being considered in the differential diagnosis. The situation is different, however, for an Expert Witness who assesses the case many months after the parents have been confronted with the initial concerns about child abuse. The parents are likely to have had many opportunities to discuss their case and rehearse their history; for example in case conferences, meetings of professionals, and with their lawyers. Usually they will have produced detailed witness statements in connection with civil and/or criminal proceedings. Interviewing carers in this context is not something which paediatric training fully prepares you for, and even experienced paediatricians may have little experience of this. There are significant risks: