http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
Determination of the cause of injury or disease is a pivotal issue in virtually all criminal and civil actions, and one that is often vigorously contested. Despite this fact, there are no widely accepted standards regarding what constitutes scientifically valid evidence of causation in a forensic setting, nor is there a systematic means of quantifying and weighing evidence of causation that is routinely followed. The single most prominent explanation for this situation is the fact that causation cannot be observed, and thus conclusions of causation are not observations but rather inferences based on a presumed degree of association (i.e. risk) between an exposure and injury. In Forensic Epidemiology: Principles and Practice the authors present the legal and scientific theories underlying the methods by which risk is used in the investigation of individual causation. The discipline of forensic epidemiology (FE) is essentially a hybrid of principles and practices common to both forensic medicine and epidemiology. FE is directed at filling the gap between clinical judgment and epidemiologic data and methods in the evaluation of both general and specific (individual) causation in civil and criminal matters. Forensic Epidemiology: Principles and Practice is aimed at the legal, forensic, and scientific communities involved in the evaluation of specific causal relationships, and includes the following topics: Historical perspective on how epidemiologic evidence of causation has been used in courts in the US and EuropeTheory and science underlying the use of risk to assess individual causationPrimer on epidemiologic methods, and various measures used to arrive at individualized comparative risk assessments and probability of cause (PC)The use of statistical methods applied to publicly available data for ad hoc analysis of PC applicable to the specific circumstances of a caseBackground on related forensic disciplines, including forensic pathology, death investigation biomechanics, and survival analysisExamples of applied FE in the investigation of traffic injury and death, automotive and other product defect litigation, medical negligence, and criminal prosecution and defense.
Front Cover; FORENSIC EPIDEMIOLOGY; FORENSIC EPIDEMIOLOGY; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Contributors; Introduction; I -- PRINCIPLES OF FORENSIC EPIDEMIOLOGY; 1 -- Legal Considerations of Forensic Applications of Epidemiology in the United States; HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE FRYE STANDARD; PRELUDE TO THE FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE; ENTER THE FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE; THE JUDICIAL DIVIDE INTERPRETING THE FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE; Daubert; Joiner; Kumho; THE AMENDED FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE; DAUBERT JURISPRUDENCE HAS IMPACTED THE FRYE ANALYSIS; THE EVOLVING SET OF DAUBERT FACTORS.
FURTHER LEGAL APPROACHES TO FORENSIC EPIDEMIOLOGYCONCLUSION; 2 -- Epidemiologic Evidence in Toxic Torts; INTRODUCTION; Civil Litigation Generally; Features of Toxic Torts; The History of Epidemiologic Evidence in Courts; LEGAL ISSUES ARISING IN TOXIC TORTS; The Elements of Legal Theories Employed in Toxic Tort Claims; Special Problems Posed by Toxic Torts; Factual Causation; Apportioning Harm Among Defendants; The Role of Epidemiologists; APPLYING THE LAW OF FACTUAL CAUSATION IN TOXIC TORT CASES; The Sine Qua Non, But-For, or Necessary Element Test for Factual Causation.
The Different Aspects of Factual Causation in a Toxic Tort CaseAgent-Disease Causation; Defendant and Defendant's Misconduct; USING EPIDEMIOLOGY TO PROVE CAUSATION; Epidemiology and Proof of General Causation; Recognizing Epidemiology's Advantages; Recognizing Epidemiology's Limitations: Methodological Issues; Recognizing Epidemiology's Limitations: Power and Significance Testing; Epidemiology and Proof of Specific Causation; Relative Risk Greater Than 2.0; Relative Risk Less Than 2.0; Differential Diagnosis and Specific Causation; Genetic Epidemiology; Judicial Scrutiny of Expert Testimony.
JUDICIAL TREATMENT OF NONEPIDEMIOLOGIC CAUSATION EVIDENCEIn Vivo Animal Toxicity Experiments; In Vitro Toxicity Experiments, Mechanistic Evidence, and Toxicogenomics; "WEIGHT-OF-THE-EVIDENCE"; DEFENSES; Statutes of Limitations; Statutes of Repose; Federal Preemption; Contributory and Comparative Fault and Assumption of Risk; SPECIAL TYPES OF TOXIC TORT LITIGATION; Claims Involving Pharmaceuticals; Claims Covered by Workers' Compensation and Federal Employers Liability Statutes; Claims Against Government Entities; Claims Under the Childhood Vaccine Act.
Claims Resulting in Bankruptcy or Against Bankrupt EntitiesClaims Seeking Compensation for Increased Risk of Disease; Claims Seeking Medical Monitoring; THE FUTURE OF EPIDEMIOLOGY IN TOXIC TORTS; Scientific Advances: Genetic Epidemiology and the "Omics"; Implications for General Causation; Implications for Specific Causation; Continuing and New Legal Issues; Relative Risk Thresholds, Statistical Significance, and Power; Epidemiology, "Fit" and Accounting for the Individual; Thresholds, Single Hits, and "Any Exposure"; "Substantial Factor" Causation.
edited by Michael D. Freeman, Maurice P. Zeegers.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.