Steps towards Developing a Set of Guidelines for Handling Medicolegal Cases in Ain Shams University Hospitals

Background: During medical practice, it is inevitable to face cases that have medicolegal
depths. The outcome of these cases could be disastrous to both the patient and the physician
unless handled in a correct manner. Ain Shams University Hospitals is a major referral center in
Cairo, Egypt, dealing with an enormous number of cases on daily basis, including a large
number of cases that bear medicolegal weight. Aim of the Work: This study is aimed at probing
the existing way that MLCs are handled and matching the results to current international
guidelines as a first step towards proposing a unified set of guidelines on how to deal with these
cases in order to preserve both patient rights and physicians’ rights. Participants and Methods:
A Self-administered structured questionnaire was created and filled by the physicians working in
Ain Shams University Hospitals, during the period between November 2021 and June 2022 to
assess physicians' way of handling cases that had medicolegal depths. Results: 55% - 65% of
participants reported that their department does not provide them with knowledge regarding
MLCs identification, handling, documenting, reporting, evidence collection, or acting as an
expert witness in court. Conclusion: There is unequal knowledge among physicians working in
ASUH regarding forensic medicine, ethics and proper systematic ways of dealing with
medicolegal cases.