Illustrations of medical evidence and trial by jury in Scotland.

Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Illustrations of medical evidence and trial by jury in Scotland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of compound fracture under my care in the Royal Infirmary, with out having seen or examined the injured parts, I called the atten¬ tion of the Lord-Advocate to the inexpediency of accepting such a worthless document, instead of the authentic information which might have been obtained from myself, or the resident medical officer of my department in the hospital. From a letter published to-day in the “ Edinburgh Monthly Medical Journal” for July (the same that was inserted in the “ Scotsman” of Wednesday last), it appears that Mr Glover has attempted to justify his conduct to your Lordship and the Lord-Advocate, by alleging that he took an op¬ portunity of privately and surreptitiously examining the limb while the nurse and clerk were absent from the ward. I express no opinion as to the extreme impropriety of such a proceeding, since it never took place. If the case had terminated fatally, as it threatened to do, or if all the inmates of the ward, which is a small one, had undergone a change, it would have been difficult to disprove the statement in question, however inconsistent with fact. But the patient has recovered with a perfectly sound limb; and an intelli¬ gent young man still occupies the bed which afforded the best opportunity of seeing all that passed during Mr Glover’s visit, to which his attention was closely directed. By the evidence of these two witnesses, I am prepared to prove that Mr Glover did not examine the limb, or make any attempt to do so, until the arrival of my clerk, when he put his hand on the bed-clothes, apparently with the view of turning them down, but was instantly restrained. In these circumstances, I cannot doubt that your Lordship will deem it desirable that the truth should be established, and there¬ fore beg very respectfully to request that an opportunity of produc¬ ing my proof may be afforded through the managers of the Royal Infirmary, the Commissioners of Police, or the Criminal Court.— I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship’s most obedient servant, James Syme. TRIAL BY JURY. Mr Glover having then raised an action of damages for the alle¬ gation that he had given a certificate without examination, it was maintained in defence that he had done so, and the trial took place