Mason’s Forensic Medicine for Lawyers covers all aspects of the relationship between forensic medicine and the law including an overview of general issues relating to medical ethics, criminal liability, negligence and the regulation of the medical profession.
The Court of Appeal and the Criminal Procedure Rules have dramatically changed what is expected of experts and the presentation of expert evidence to the Courts since the previous edition in 2008. The book considers each key stage from the reporting of the death to the investigation and diagnosis of the cause of death, detailing medical and legal considerations that must be taken into account. Each chapter begins with an explanation of basic medical issues including relevant anatomy, identifying controversies in the various forensic areas.
The sixth edition has been rewritten and restructured to provide a more analytical approach, with new chapters on the important areas of sexual offences and DNA, and expanded chapters on post-mortem examination to include explanation of the practicalities of an autopsy from the medical perspective.
It also includes coverage of the law and procedure surrounding the filming of post-mortems including examples of successful challenges to, and impugning of, post-mortems on the basis of techniques, inferences, expert evidence and public law challenges to the Coroners courts such as access; remit and limitations of inquiry.
