FORMING AN OPINION WORKSHOP 1b
Saturday 8th 13.45pm
Dr Angela Williams
Angela Williams is a Forensic Physician with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. Her professional interests cover the full span of clinical forensic medicine but current activities are centered on sexual assault, injury interpretation and medical education. She has a Masters in Forensic Medicine, a Grad Dip in Law and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Legal Medicine. At present, Angela is the President of FAMSAC Australia.
OVERVIEW
Workshop How To Form An Opinion-Dr Angela Williams
Lead by Dr Angela Williams began with the definition of an opinion - a reminder that certainty is not the prime concern of our thoughts. An opinion is therefore an expert’s thoughts based on the known probable events or truths, and their judgement with respect to their experience, knowledge and skills.
The discussion followed into the explanation of the evidentiary
rules and the legal relationship to medical report writing and formation of
opinions.
When giving an opinion useful points were raised about the need for
impartiality, to be objective, that the scope is addressed, and that the topics
most likely to be important to the reader are addressed. Opinions need to be
appropriately weighted in the context of the allegations, the courtroom and
evidence based medicine.
The hints on forming an opinion concluded the talk and included:
Notes by Dr Catherine Palmqvist