The influence of expert testimony on legal decisions regarding the civil liability of doctors

Abstract

The current study seeks to investigate expert’s testimony in the context of the resolution of judicial demands on the civil liability of doctors. For this purpose, the research first focuses on relevant theories and raises the question of expert testimony and its relationship to the other evidence permitted under law in civil lawsuits, with an emphasis on the principle of rational persuasion of the judge. Thereafter, the research focuses on the jurisprudential analysis of the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais State in Brazil. By combining these two dimensions of research, the study was able to determine a high degree of convergence between the decisions in the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais and expert testimony conclusions.