title: Legal trends in imaging.
abstract: As long ago as 400 BC, Hippocrates and his followers recognized that someone must oversee the practice of medicine and impose effective consequences when practice proves substandard. This article focuses primarily upon negligence law, trends toward using imaging in criminal cases and the intersection between the law and controversial, cutting-edge uses of imaging. The ways in which the law and medicine interact as opponents and as partners are described. After completing this article, readers will: Describe the prevalent civil damage cases involving radiological practices. Know what can be done to help avoid malpractice lawsuits. Be able to identify issues with respect to the current insurance crisis. Understand the key roles imaging plays in criminal cases. Be aware of legal concerns raised by new technologies. This article is a Directed Reading. See the quiz following the conclusion.
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Church
mesh_terms: D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D044707:Forensic Sciences / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008318:Malpractice / Q000639:trends*; D013679:Technology, Radiologic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States