[When the patient has to go to court - an evaluation of medical certificates]. / Wenn Patientin oder Patient vor Gericht muss - eine Evaluation ärztlicher Atteste.

If the patient is unable to appear in court due to illness, a certificate of incapacity to stand trial or travel (civil resp. criminal law) must be submitted. METHODS: Over a period of 2;2 years, 34 certificates submitted in the context of criminal or civil proceedings at 4 different district and regional courts were analyzed anonymously. RESULTS: Major deficiencies in the content of the certificates were revealed. As a rule, certificates were submitted without justification for the stated inability to stand trial, or certificates of incapacity for work were submitted instead. The role of the physician as an expert witness, which should enable the court to make an independent decision, was exercised only very occasionally. DISCUSSION: The deficiencies shown are probably due to uncertainties in the issuance of the certificates. It is important that the certificate contains a diagnosis, the underlying diagnostics, the type and probable duration of the assumed incapacity and a generally understandable, sufficient justification for this.