Toxic Torts
Subtitle: Science, Law and the Possibility of Justice
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: September 4, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 414
ISBN-13: 9780521861823
Subjects: Jurisprudence & General Issues; Torts / delicts; Torts; Law; Legal Reference / Law Profession; Toxic torts; Jurisprudence; Law / Jurisprudence; Chemicals; Hazardous substances; Law and legislation; United States
Description: The U.S. tort, or personal injury law, cloaked behind increased judicial review of science, is changing before our eyes, except we cannot see it. U.S. Supreme Court decisions beginning with Daubert v. Merrell-Dow Pharmaceutical altered how courts review scientific testimony and its foundation in the law. The complexity of both science and the law mask the overall social consequences of these decisions. Yet they are too important to remain hidden. Mistaken reviews of scientific evidence can decrease citizen access to the law, increase incentives for firms not to test their products, lower deterrence for wrongful conduct and harmful products, and decrease the possibility of justice for citizens injured by toxic substances. Even if courts review evidence well, greater judicial scrutiny increases litigation costs and attorney screening of clients, and decreases citizens' access to the law. This book introduces these issues, reveals the relationships that can deny citizens just restitution for harms suffered, and shows how justice can be enhanced in toxic tort cases.