The author reports the case in which he was sued for medical malpracti
ce. A nonunanimous jury found in favor of the plaintiff. Interviews of
two of the jurors revealed that the jury discounted the expert testim
ony on both sides, the evidence, and the jury instructions. The author
, finding that the jury decided the case based upon it's perception of
the physician's ''bedside manner,'' concludes that juries expect psyc
hiatrists to behave more like friendly family doctors than objective p
sychoanalysts.