Study of Handling of Medico-legal Cases among Physicians in Governmental Hospitals in Cairo

Abstract

edico-legal case (MLC) refers to a case of injury or illness that indicates investigation by law enforcement agencies to understand, establish and fix the criminal responsibility for the case in accordance with the law of the country in the interest of truth and justice of victim/patient and country (e.g., sexual assaults, criminal abortion, homicidal injuries, attempted suicide, …etc). MLCs represent an integral part of medical practice in emergency departments in the hospitals. Apart from treatment, the physicians have to carefully examine them for proper assessment and documentation of the injury, appropriate securing, handling and documentation of medico-legal evidences. Therefore, medical practitioners share the responsibility of the administration of justice by supplying the court with the relevant medical insight to advance informed decisions on legal matters. This descriptive cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted on physicians working in governmental hospitals in Cairo during the period from July to September 2016 to assess their knowledge, practice and attitude regarding