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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Admissibility Of Differential Diagnosis Testimony To Prove Causation In Toxic Tort Cases: The Interplay Of Adjective And Substantive Law, Joseph Sanders, Julie Machal-Fulks
The Admissibility Of Differential Diagnosis Testimony To Prove Causation In Toxic Tort Cases: The Interplay Of Adjective And Substantive Law, Joseph Sanders, Julie Machal-Fulks
Law and Contemporary Problems
This article uses the differential diagnosis opinions to explore a pair of interrelationships. The basic causal framework employed by most courts in toxic tort cases is presented. A key to understanding the developing case law in this area is to appreciate the degree to which the courts have adopted the interpretive conventions of science in assessing admissibility.
Too Many Probabilities: Statistical Evidence Of Tort Causation, David W. Barnes
Too Many Probabilities: Statistical Evidence Of Tort Causation, David W. Barnes
Law and Contemporary Problems
Medical scientific testimony is often expressed in terms of two different probabilities: 1. The increased probability of harm if a person is exposed, for example, to a toxin. 2. The observed relationship is an artifact of the experimental method. This article demonstrates that neither probability, taken alone or together, measures whether the "preponderance of the evidence" test is met.
Scientific Models Of Human Health Risk Analysis In Legal And Policy Decisions, Douglas Crawford-Brown
Scientific Models Of Human Health Risk Analysis In Legal And Policy Decisions, Douglas Crawford-Brown
Law and Contemporary Problems
The quality of scientific predictions of risk in the courtroom and policy arena rests in large measure on how the two differences between normal practice and the legal/policy practice of science are reconciled. This article considers a variety of issues that arise in reconciling these differences, and the problems that remain with scientific estimates of risk when these are used in decisions.
The Swine Flu Vaccine And Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Case Study In Relative Risk And Specific Causation, David A. Freedman, Philip B. Stark
The Swine Flu Vaccine And Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Case Study In Relative Risk And Specific Causation, David A. Freedman, Philip B. Stark
Law and Contemporary Problems
This article discusses the role of epidemiologic evidence in toxic tort cases, focusing on relative risk. Whether specific causation can be inferred if a relative risk is above 2.0 is discussed. The object is to explore the scientific logic behind intuitions of relative risk.
Scientific Ignorance And Reliable Patterns Of Evidence In Toxic Tort Causation: Is There A Need For Liability Reform?, Carl F. Cranor, David A. Eastmond
Scientific Ignorance And Reliable Patterns Of Evidence In Toxic Tort Causation: Is There A Need For Liability Reform?, Carl F. Cranor, David A. Eastmond
Law and Contemporary Problems
As a first step to preserving the central aims of tort law, courts will need to recognize the wide variety of respectable, reliable patterns of evidence on which scientists themselves rely for drawing inferences about the toxicity of substances. Courts may also need to take further steps to address the woeful ignorance about the chemical universe. This may necessitate changes in the liability rules.
Causation And The Law: Preemption, Lawful Sufficiency, And Causal Sufficiency, Richard Fumerton, Ken Kress
Causation And The Law: Preemption, Lawful Sufficiency, And Causal Sufficiency, Richard Fumerton, Ken Kress
Law and Contemporary Problems
This article briefly describes the normative/nonnormative distinction, and how one might invoke this distinction to locate a nonnormative dimension of actual causation. After briefly introducing Richard Wright's concept of a necessary element in a set of conditions for an effect, the article notes ambiguities in the critical concepts of necessity and sufficiency that he deploys. The article suggests the most plausible interpretation of Wright's use of different modal concepts.
Causation, Contribution, And Legal Liability: An Empirical Study, Lawrence M. Solan, John M. Darley
Causation, Contribution, And Legal Liability: An Empirical Study, Lawrence M. Solan, John M. Darley
Law and Contemporary Problems
This article presents empirical evidence of the ways people compare judgments of liability with judgments of causation and contribution. Specifically, the article reports the results of experiments designed to show whether people regard causation and enablement as necessary elements of liability.