Litigating Cancer Claims

As the door to the mysteries of cancer causes has started to open, so too has the door to the courthouse.

Once we step through it, we must deal with causation … definite links …probative
evidence …requirements which should be familiar to all practicing attorneys. But in
claims for damages resulting from contracting cancer, proof of causation takes on new
meaning. Establishing legal liability requires an attorney to create a causal chain reaching back
to events which may have occurred decades in the past. Links in this chain of causation
include a person’s occupation; the environment where they lived or worked, the products they handled and used, the level of exposure to carcinogens and much more.

Assembling the links in the chain of causation requires the cooperation and interaction of medical, scientific, and legal professionals.

It requires lawyers to understand and question the complex and
often controversial results of cutting edge research. It requires innovation in legal theories, trial
preparation, courtroom tactics and use of experts.

This program examined the chemical, occupational and environmental causes of cancer in the context of the techniques necessary for preparing and presenting a cancer victim’s claim for damages. It deals with the medical elements of causation, epidemiological investigation, and the legal specifics of proof.