The Gazette 1988

MAY 1 9 88

GAZETTE

Cor respondence

Most med i co - l egal pho t o- graphers should be available on a call service, but this is up to the individual photographer. Those with enough experience tend to operate on a " no foal - no fee" basis, as this is the type of market that the medico-legal photographer has to work in. This type of payment condition however is not adopted by all medical illustrators and one should inquire, before any commission is ordered. Th r oughout the wo r l d, the governing bodies for medical illus- trators are greatly concerned that non-qualified people are carrying out medico-legal work. It is not only doing medical photography harm but it could have serious ramifications for those commis- sioning wo rk f r om these individuals. It is most important for medical and ethical reasons that the inclusion of medico-legal illus- trations, for use as evidence in court, be produced by those suitably qualified to do it. What training does a medical photographer have to enable him to carry out his job with efficiency and the utmost professionalism? We shall assume that a minimum of three years study into physiology and anatomy has been carried out. This still only equips the medical photographer with a basic level of medical knowledge, and it is the foundation of a course of study to last the remainder of his working life. Aside from this there is a concurrent study of chemistry, physics, graphic design, photo- graphic optics, and photography itself, lasting between three and five years. On top of this, medical photo- graphers are expected to study and ce r t i fy in television and video production, sound recording and editing, the writing and pre- sentation of reports, and com- puter s t ud i es i nco r po r a t i ng computer generated imaging and graphics. It does seem a t r i f le disappointing, if not totally exas- perating, t hat after years of edification, people flee from your presence aghast that one should even like looking at injuries let alone photographing them, along with contagions of one form or another. •

The Editor, Law Society Gazette, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

14th March 1988

Re: Irish Permanent Building Society and Grants of Probate

Dear Sirs, It has come to our attention in a recent case t hat t he Irish Permanent Building Society has commenced a practice whereby Grants of Probate with account transfer forms are remitted to branch offices with a view to branch staff getting in touch d i r ec t ly w i t h t he Personal Representative or Beneficiary as the case may be in order to secure the funds with that Society. Although there was no difficulty in the case in question with our client, we could easily envisage cir- cumstances whereby a solicitor might have given an undertaking to a Bank to discharge funeral, testa- mentary and other expenses and be relying on the proceeds of an I.P.B.S. account to discharge the full amount due to the Bank. Clearly under the I.P.B.S. new procedures it might become impossible for a solicitor to comply with such an undertaking. The Society might possibly take this matter up with the Irish Per- manent Building Society. In the meantime we, in the future, will be having all Executors and Adminis- trators sign express authorities requiring that financial institutions return Grant of representation and withdrawal forms/name transfer forms rather than same being passed to the client direct.

X-rays can be turned into black and white photographs for ease of viewing in Court.

COL IN G. GOGG IN Medical Photographic Consultant

Medical & Legal Photography for cases of Litigation

MEMBER OF The Institute of Medical & Biological Illustration • • • The European Association of Illustrators in Medicine and Science • • • The British Insitute of Professional Photography • • * The Master Photographers Association

Yours sincerely, HARRY SEXTON Solicitor Sexton Keenan & Co., 138 Walkinstown Avenue, Dublin 12.

Call Phona: 088-553713 Home: 893495 80, BEECHPARK ROAD FOXROCK, DUBLIN 18

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