Epidemiology and the Law provides a valuable reference tool for lawyers and judges who are confronted with epidemiological issues in their cases. It is also an important asset to ancillary professionals working with law firms, such as legal nurse consultants or environmental health specialists, who assist in screening potential cases and educating lawyers on various scientific and medical topics. Lastly, it will be very useful to professionals who have served or want to serve as expert witnesses in cases involving complex causation issues that touch upon epidemiology.
The field of epidemiology, the scientific discipline in which patterns of exposure and disease in human populations are described (“descriptive epidemiology”) and used to make inferences about the causes of disease (“analytic epidemiology”) has become more important each year to lawyers practicing in toxic tort, pharmaceutical product liability and a number of other areas of law where issues of causation associated with exposures to a toxic substance or a drug or medical device are litigated. Understanding epidemiological studies requires familiarity with the terminology, statistical methods, and reasoning used in the field, which is foreign to most lawyers.
Epidemiology and the Law is an invaluable source to be kept on the shelf and available when background information is needed to address issues confronting lawyers and judges in a particular case, as well as numerous case references that may be helpful in briefing or deciding a particular issue. The authors have sought to make this book technically accurate but completely accessible to lawyers and judges, providing multiple hypothetical examples to explain the otherwise difficult and subtle scientific concepts.
David Savitz is Professor of Epidemiology in the Brown University School of Public Health with joint appointments as a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pediatrics in the Alpert Medical School. From 2013–2017, Dr. Savitz served as the vice president for research at Brown University. He came to Brown in 2010 from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he had served as the Charles W. Bluhdorn Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine and the director of the Disease Prevention and Public Health Institute since 2006. Before that appointment, he taught and conducted research at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and at the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. His epidemiologic research has addressed a wide range of topics including exposures to physical and chemical hazards in the workplace and community, health impact of exposures associated with military deployment, environmental effects of energy development, risks from environmental exposures during pregnancy, and drinking water safety. He has authored more than 400 papers in professional journals and the editor or author of four books on environmental epidemiology. He has served as president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research, and the North American Regional Councilor for the International Epidemiological Association. Dr. Savitz is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, inducted in 2007, and has previously served on 14 consensus committees, 8 of which he chaired or vice-chaired. Dr. Savitz received his undergraduate training in psychology at Brandeis University, holds a master’s degree in preventive medicine from The Ohio State University, and received his Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.
Stephen G. Schwarz is Managing Partner at Faraci Lange, LLP in Rochester, New York and has been a trial lawyer for over 35 years. He was selected as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2005, and served on the organization’s Board of Regents from 2014–2018. He was selected as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 1995. He has litigated dozens of cases involving complex causation issues including medical, medical device and environmental contamination cases. Most recently, he has served as lead counsel in litigation involving PFOA exposures from contaminated drinking water in upstate New York. He has also litigated and tried multiple cases involving toxic exposures to TCE and other solvents as well as diseases caused by asbestos exposure. He has published numerous articles in professional journals including the ACTL Journal, Voir Dire Magazine, the journal published by ABOTA, Trial Magazine, a publication of the American Association for Justice and the New York State Bar Journal. He has successfully argued numerous appeals setting important precedents in environmental toxic tort law in New York and Federal appellate courts. His undergraduate degree from the University at Albany was in Biology and he thereafter earned a J.D. degree from Albany Law School.
“Epidemiology is the study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why. It plays a significant role in many types of legal claims, especially those with difficult causation issues involving clinical trial data and epidemiological studies. Such claims include those alleging adverse effects of environmental exposure as well as those related to medical malpractice, defective pharmaceutical agents, and defective medical devices. The ability of lawyers to effectively represent their clients in such cases and of judges to properly adjudicate these matters requires an understanding of complex epidemiological concepts. Without a clear understanding of these concepts, lawyers and judges would be unable to evaluate the large bodies of epidemiological research or the validity of and basis for opinions expressed by epidemiology experts. The authors of Epidemiology and the Law have done an excellent job providing clear and accessible explanations of these complex concepts. The textbook is very well written and a ‘must have’ primer for attorneys and judges managing these cases, as well as legal nurses assisting attorneys on these matters.”
Elizabeth Zorn, RN, BSN
Legal Nurse Consultant
Past President, American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (https://www.aalnc.org)
Co-owner, LNCExchange.com (https://lncexchange.com)
“I have been representing plaintiffs in pharmaceutical products and toxic tort litigation for several decades. These cases frequently involve interpretation of epidemiological studies and direct and cross-examination of epidemiologists. Epidemiology and the Law provides accessible explanations of concepts that are frequently difficult for lawyers to master, e.g., statistical significance. The book also provides a detailed review of case law interpreting epidemiology studies regarding general causation and admissibility of expert opinions under Daubert and Frye. Although already familiar with the topics covered, I still found it useful and informative. It is now required reading for all attorneys in my department.”
Ellen Relkin
Weitz & Luxenberg, New York, New York
“Epidemiology and the Law is the perfect resource for all levels of medical/legal experience. It is comprehensive in its coverage of the always centralized issue of causation. What I found most helpful was its simplification of complex concepts that can be readily translated into jury presentations. I only wish it had been published earlier in my career.”
Eric Kennedy
Weisman, Kennedy & Berris, Cleveland, Ohio
“I really enjoyed reading through Epidemiology and the Law! It is a great crash course for any attorney who needs a refresher on statistics. I found Chapter Ten on ‘General and Specific Causation’ to be an especially interesting and useful read, specifically the section on ‘Required Magnitude of Association.’ I had no idea that different jurisdictions actually specify certain levels of magnitude required to meet causation; the doubling of risk requirement in Texas is fascinating. This book will be helpful to any lawyer looking to interpret and present scientific literature in the legal context. I only wish I could have read it last year!”
Experienced Tort Liability Defense Attorney
from a major national law firm who asked that their name be withheld
