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When instituting a claim in medical malpractice and personal injury cases, many jurisdictions first require securing an expert’s certification. This legal document goes by a variety of names, sometimes referred to as a certificate of merit or an expert witness certificate. Its purpose is to verify the legitimacy of the medical basis for the legal claim. Courts use these to screen out frivolous lawsuits, avoiding unnecessary waste of the courts' resources.

Medical images have become an increasingly common part of medical examinations and diagnoses. It should then come as no surprise that medical images are playing a more important role in legal trials involving personal injuries, medical malpractice and sometimes criminal law. 

Ask any experienced personal injury attorney about whether using medical images enhances his or her ability to illustrate a complex story to the jury and you will get a resounding agreement. But if you ask them how difficult it is to make that happen, you will find that most pause, unsure of how to proceed.

In personal injury and medical malpractice litigation, a picture tells a thousand words but a DICOM image can include data from thousands of pictures. Whether going to trial or generating evidence to support a fast settlement, it can be important for attorneys to have a strong grasp on the underlying medical injury.  Whether it’s a judge or jury, providing a clear picture of the injury can make or break your case.

Most lawyers are not medical doctors and often require consultation with a medical expert. The attorneys we work with stress the importance of having experts involved early to help them understand nuances associated with the injury in question and the determination of its cause. 

Most experts expect to see the original DICOM imaging, understanding that this is the highest quality and most authentic information they could have to form their opinion. If you’re wondering why you shouldn’t just use a much simpler photograph or JPG image, check out the blog, “The Visual Verdict: DICOM vs. JPG Images in Legal Proceedings.” 

Due to the size of these DICOM images, sharing them with experts is slow, error-prone, and expensive.