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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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