[Medico-legal aspects of thoracic imaging in 2000]

The radiologist's responsibility for the radiographic procedure concerns control of the indication and patient information and consent, as well as the examination procedure itself, including safety measures, interpretation, report delivery, and patient follow-up until referral to a colleague. Details on five specific medico-legal points are examined here: 1) patient information and consent, a problem recently brought to the forefront by the recent French Supreme Court decision, 2) lung cancer unrecognized on a radiography, 3) implications of complementary examinations related to the discovery of a suspect lesion, 4) fortuitous discovery of a malignant lesion in a patient undergoing exploration for another reason, 5) questions of a legal and ethical nature raised by the development of telemedicine.