Research report 2012 - Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy

Medical expert opinions in social court proceedings

Authors
Schweigler, Daniela
Departments
Abteilung Ausländisches und internationales Sozialrecht
Summary
Social court proceedings often revolve around complex medical issues. Often, medical experts are requested to assist in the proceedings to clarify the facts. Apart from obtaining expert opinions through the official channels the court may, due to the nature of the German Social Court Act, have a physician of the plaintiff’s choice testify as expert witness. This project examined through nationwide research the extent to which the latter procedure impacts the outcome of social court proceedings. It also seeks to further expose the connection between legal doctrine and empirical law research.

For the full text, see the German version.

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