[Avoidable mistakes in neurological expert testimony]

A physician thinking in the usual diagnostic/therapeutic fashion is faced with numerous pitfalls when presenting expert opinions as a medical advisor in courts of law. The main source of errors in assessment is the lack of understanding of differences and peculiarities of terminology and how health disturbances are rated in the various legal fields. Additionally, there are major problems with different valuations of evidence in the "causative chain" and how to estimate the influence of previous health disturbances. Finally, it is important to avoid formal mistakes in the formulation of expert opinions and to avoid creating confusion in presentation, role conflicts, and conflicts of interest.