The Forensic Pediatrician as a Child Advocate

Abstract

This paper focuses on the medicolegal activities of a group of six pediatricians from the Winnipeg Children's Hospital. Increasing legal demands resulted in 93 court appearances for the group, during a 12-month period ending in December 1982. The educational processes and the individual court room issues confronted by both the courts and the six pediatricians, dealing with problems of child protection, are described. Major pediatric roles and principles of advocacy resulting from these experiences are delineated. Society's accountability is discussed with specific reference to the pediatrician's role.