Exclusion of defense evidence about the risks and complications of a procedure during a medical negligence trial would effectively impose strict liability on doctors, a defense attorney argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday.

John Conti of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, who represented an obstetrical and gynecological surgeon, made that argument in Mitchell v. Shikora, which last year resulted in a Superior Court decision that said evidence about the risks and complications of a hysterectomy was prejudicial and should not have been admitted at trial.