Modern technology may be bringing wonderful advances to medical care, but some doctors are not so happy with the possibilities it offers. Parents typically record the births of their babies to remember the moment and rejoice in their happiness. Doctors, however, are viewing those videos as possible threats to their own well-being.

Here is a comment published in Pediatrics, June 2005.

"Concerned that family videos of the birth of a child could be used against them in medical malpractice cases, doctors and hospitals are limiting videotaping in delivery rooms. 'What once used to be really fun and warm and cozy and so forth is now a potential nail in the coffin from a liability perspective,' said Dr. John Nelson, the president of the American Medical Association and an obstetrician. Dr. Nelson does not allow families to videotape the birth itself, but they are free to record other events, such as the mother's first moments with the child."

Perhaps it is time that we routinely record all surgeries and births on video. What do doctors fear, that an actual visual record will provide more reliable and damaging data for documenting negligence than reliance on eyewitness testimony or the opinions of experts?