Trials of an Expert Witness: Tales of Clinical Neurology and the Law

Chicago-area neurologist Klawans ( Toscanini's Fumble ) is not unwilling to blow the whistle on incompetent colleagues in the medical profession, but he is equally ready to rush to the defense of a doctor accused of malpractice on dubious grounds. Often called upon to testify as an expert witness in neurological cases, here he takes a piercing look at some of them--instances of misdiagnoses, of failure to consider diagnoses that led to complications, of drug companies charged with suppressing information and of hospitals that in effect killed patients. He also offers observations on the cases of Jack Ruby and Ezra Pound, in which he was not involved. Klawan's clipped, minimalist writing style strengthens the book's inherent appeal. (Mar.)