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GAZETTE
A Case for Med i cal Photography
FOREWORD
This paper is written in the understanding that the jury system
for the compu t a t i on of personal injury awards, has been
abolished, and that the judge is now the final arbiter. Should
the jury system be in ac t i on for some t ime after the
publication of this paper, then one should read " j u r y" in place
of " j udge" t hroughout this text.
A Case for Medical Photography
Whoever said that "a photograph
never lies" was quite obviously, not
a lawyer. But that is not to say that
photographs are a "hinderance
rather t han a help. In f act
photographs professionally taken
and printed are fast becoming an
invaluable aid to the administration
of justice. And at the forefront in
setting high standards, and levels
of professionalism, and integrity, is
the "Medical Photographer".
There is a hardly a week goes by
without the question being asked
" W h a t is a medical pho t o-
grapher?". I have found the easiest
way of answering this is to say that
medical photographers photograph
diseases, injuries, and causes of
death, and it is usually at this point
that people decide to make a rapid
exit from your company, in the firm
belief that you must be in need of
very serious psychiatric help.
But it is not only lay people who
are squeamish about looking at
injuries. Solicitors and barristers
don't like looking at them either,
but by virtue of their professions,
a large proportion of them have to
do so.
If one addresses one's attention
to the purpose of a tort action, it is
clear, that if the injured party has
to be provided wi th sufficient
compensation to leave him in a
position, which in legal terms is
THE position he was in if the
accident had not happened, full
appreciation in court is dependent
on the ability to provide true, fair,
and convincing medical evidence.
In medico-legal cases it is usual
to have "medical experts" as
professional witnesses as to the
severity, or lack of it, of the
plaintiff's injuries. These witnesses
are unques t i onab ly the most
reliable source of evidence in this
regard.
They may on occasions bring
with them radiographs to "illus-
trate" the plaintiffs condition. It is
a small wonder to medical
illustrators how anyone can make
by
Colin G. Goggin
much sense out of radiographs (X-
rays) when they are produced as
evidence, especially when one
considers that to view them with
even a modicum of clarity, it
requires the radiograph to be trans-
illuminated. To this end, medical
illustrators have developed a
procedure whereby the radiograph
is photographed by passing light
through it in two directions, thus
increasing the contrast of the
image. These photographs can
then be viewed easily in a great
amount of detail thereby obliterat-
ing the need to hold the radiograph
in the general direction of a
window.
One must give serious thought
as to how convincing a verbal
account of the plaintiff's injuries
are to the judge. If a doctor tells a
court that the female plaintiff has
severe scarring on the pelvic region
of her anatomy and that extensive
plastic surgery in the future will at
least be partially visible above her
bikini line, does this evidence alone
enable the judge to pronounce her
award wi th any realistic degree of
fairness?
Surely
med i cal
photographs of her injuries would
be of great assistance in arriving at
a true and fair assessment.
In the past however, I have come
across one or t wo little problems
relating to medical photography in
court. In order of popularity these
are that photographs play on a
judge's emotions; that colour is not
accurate and that it is even made
more "appealing"; and finally that
enlarged photographs make the
injury look a great deal worse.
To begin with I suppose we could
do away w i t h
pho t og r aphs
altogether and personal injury
cases would fast become one of
the country's biggest spectator
sports, with plaintiffs divesting in
witness boxes the length and
breadth of the country. It would be
totally wrong not to let the judge
see visibly the plaintiff's injuries
and for reasons of medical ethics
it is preferable to have lesions
portrayed photographically.
In answer to the arguement that
the colour in prints is biased, it can
only be said that the professional
medical photographers have a duty
to record as accurately as possible,
any medical condition they are
asked to photograph. Contrary to
the occasional snide accusation
made against medical photo-
graphers, they do not enhance
images of injuries as evidence, for
any amount of money. It has yet to
be recorded that a professional
medical photographer risked his
entire profession and the reputation
of his Institute by unprofessional
conduct. Adhering to the codes of
practice of the various institutes
and associations governing medical
illustration is what allows photo-
graphers put the word " p r o-
fessional" after their names.
Photography can be used as an
historical recording of the injury.
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