MEDICINA LEGALĂ VS EXPERTIZA DE SPECIALITATE MEDICALĂ

In practical situations with medical implications, the nature of the expertise must be established as a matter of priority. This matter involves a series of discussions on the differences between forensic expertise and specialized medical expertise. Nowadays, forensic expertise continues to be approached from an obsolete perspective, without detecting its limits in medical or legal matters. Highlighting the differences between the two categories of expertise and the shortcomings of the relevant legislation has major practical consequences. The utility of this study lies in terms of analyzing the legal significance of respecting the medical specialty and the object of the medical expertise – a new category of expertise, which seems to be of no practical use, despite its great importance. This respects the principle of medical specialty and takes into account also the level of development of medical science in the field of expertise. Adherence to incidental medical guidelines or protocols can be verified only by a specialized medical expertise, the only one able to analyze the compliance of the medical conduct. Instead, the limits of forensic expertise are revealed by its object, which is just another expertise in medical law, without encompassing the entire medical or legal matter, in a single specialty. The two types of work must be clearly delimited in judicial practice, for the full clarification of legal situations with medical implications, regardless of their nature.