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Causation And "Legal Certainty" In Legal Malpractice Law, Vincent R. Johnson
Causation And "Legal Certainty" In Legal Malpractice Law, Vincent R. Johnson
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
A line of California cases holds that causation of damages in legal malpractice actions must be proven with “legal certainty.” This Article argues that judicial references to legal certainty are ambiguous and threaten to undermine the fairness of legal malpractice litigation as a means for resolving lawyer-client disputes. Courts should eschew the language of legal certainty and plainly state that damages are recoverable if a legal malpractice plaintiff proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that those losses were factually and proximately caused by the defendant’s breach of duty.
Medical Malpractice: The Right To Recover For The Loss Of A Chance Of Survival, Patricia L. Andel
Medical Malpractice: The Right To Recover For The Loss Of A Chance Of Survival, Patricia L. Andel
Pepperdine Law Review
Traditionally, a plaintiff suffering from misdiagnosis has been precluded from recovery unless he could show that "but for" the misdiagnosis he would have had a better-than-even chance of recovery. While many courts have attempted to avoid this doctrine by reducing the standard of causation, this has led to inconsistent results. The better approach is to recognize that a "chance" of recovery has a compensable value in and of itself This comment will explore the concept of loss of a chance and trace its development as it relates to medical malpractice actions.
An Inconvenient Lie: Big Tobacco Was Put On Trial For Denying The Effects Of Smoking; Is Climate Change Denial Off-Limits?, Elizabeth Dubats
An Inconvenient Lie: Big Tobacco Was Put On Trial For Denying The Effects Of Smoking; Is Climate Change Denial Off-Limits?, Elizabeth Dubats
Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy
Plaintiffs have made several notable attempts to bring nuisance, trespass, and negligence suits against major sources of greenhouse gas emissions for climate change related injuries. While climate change is a widely recognized environmental issue, courts have refused to recognize it as a basis for a valid cause of action in tort, finding either petitioners lack standing to bring the claim, or that the claim raises political questions that should not be addressed by the judiciary. Some more recent climate change tort claims have also included allegations of fraud on the part of the hydrocarbon industry for actively perpetuating misinformation about …
Bayes' Law, Sequential Uncertainties, And Evidence Of Causation In Toxic Tort Cases, Neal C. Stout, Peter A. Valberg
Bayes' Law, Sequential Uncertainties, And Evidence Of Causation In Toxic Tort Cases, Neal C. Stout, Peter A. Valberg
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Judges are the gatekeepers of evidence. Arguably, the most difficult duty for a judicial gatekeeper is to screen the reliability of expert opinions in scientific fields such as medicine that are beyond the ken of most judges. Yet, judges have a duty to scrutinize such expert opinion evidence to determine its reliability and admissibility. In toxic tort cases, the issue of causation-whether the alleged exposures actually caused the plaintiffs injury-is nearly always the central dispute, and determining admissibility of expert causation opinion is a daunting challenge for most judges. We present a comprehensive review of the courts' struggles with the …
Procedural And Substantive Problems In Complex Litigation Arising From Disasters, Jack B. Weinstein
Procedural And Substantive Problems In Complex Litigation Arising From Disasters, Jack B. Weinstein
Touro Law Review
No abstract provided.
Allen V. The United States Of America: The “Substantial” Connection Between Nuclear Fallout And Cancer, Daniel Swartzman, Tom Christoffel
Allen V. The United States Of America: The “Substantial” Connection Between Nuclear Fallout And Cancer, Daniel Swartzman, Tom Christoffel
Touro Law Review
No abstract provided.