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Judge criticises expert witness for misrepresenting research findings

BMJ 2002; 324 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7336.505 (Published 02 March 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:505
  1. Clare Dyer, legal correspondent
  1. BMJ

    A UK judge has strongly criticised an expert witness in a personal injury case, accusing him of misusing the works of others, misrepresenting his critics, and abandoning any claim to objectivity.

    Judge John Griffith Williams, recorder of Cardiff, sitting as a High Court judge, said that Peter Behan, emeritus professor of neurology at Glasgow University, “demonstrated a capacity to use his interpretation of the evidence to suit his purposes which conflicts with his duty to the court as an expert witness.”

    Professor Behan was representing Christine Perry, a former post office worker who alleged that she developed multiple sclerosis as a result of falling over a mailbag at …

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