Opinion ID: 1919140
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 28

Heading: Method for Reliably Analyzing Body of Evidence

Text: [26] A meta-analysis of observational studies can present problems if the methodologies used in the combined studies differ. [154] Thus, if an epidemiological expert has performed or relied on an unpublished meta-analysis of observational studies, the expert should show the methodology used is generally accepted in the field. Similarly, if an expert's causation opinion has not been subjected to peer review, the expert should explain the accepted criteria that he or she has used to conclude that an agent can cause the plaintiff's disease in the general population [155] : e.g., the Bradford Hill criteria or another set of criteria for determining causal relationships. Having determined the basic reliability standards for an expert's general causation opinion based on epidemiological evidence, we now decide whether the district court applied the proper standard.