Causation and Risk in the Law of Torts: Scientific Evidence and Medicinal Product Liability

Description

This work provides a comparative account of the legal and scientific issues relating to proof of causation in alleged cases of drug-induced injury, principally in Europe and North America. It seeks to assess whether, by using probabilistic approaches, the courts may more accurately determine the cause of adverse reactions contentiously associated with drugs. In four case studies (DES, Bondoctin, vaccine damage and "Gulf War Syndrome"), the deficiencies of orthodox approaches to causation are revealed. A sustained argument is presented in favour of according greater weight to epidemiological statistics, as refined by the application of the Bayes' Theorem. A useful feature is the discussion of the role of expert witnesses, including an examination of how the author's proposals could be accommodated within the reformed civil process envisaged by the Woolf Report. The book also examines the economic implications of these proposals.

Richard Goldberg is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Birmingham.

This book should be essential reading for all people interested in causation: for academics and students because of the questions it sees as important (and which one might like to argue with), and for practitioners because of its detailed practical and comparative coverage of the cases and legislation in the area. -- Prue Vines * Adelaide Law Review * Richard Goldberg's book provides an excellent exposition of this fascinating and important subject... wonderfully researched and superbly referenced... a must for anyone with any interest in pharmaceutical litigation. -- The Review Editor * Medical Litigation *