Scientific Evidence of Factual Causation

This module examines three scientific areas that provide evidence bearing on causation in the “toxic tort” or environmental disease context: epidemiology, toxicology, and genetics. These scientific disciplines are used in civil lawsuits and in regulatory proceedings in which causation or risk is an issue. The module is appropriate for non-scientist law students as well as others interested in learning the science of toxic tort causation, including practicing attorneys, judges, and public policy and public health students in the United States and elsewhere.

It is designed to provide (1) An understanding of the concept of factual causation and how evidence bearing on that matter is brought to bear in judicial proceedings and the regulatory context; (2) How the results of an observational epidemiologic study bear on factual causation; (3) The role of random chance, bias and confounding in skewing relationships found in epidemiologic studies; (4) The difference between epidemiology and toxicology and the latter’s focus on whether and how a suspected toxic substance affects genes, cells, tissues, organs, and organisms in causing disease; (5) An understanding of the legal issue of specific causation.

The module is designed for use in a classroom context with an instructor assisting students to absorb and understand the material. Companion materials include slides, discussion questions, teaching notes, and a hypothetical for student assessment. The module contains descriptive material, figures and tables, abstracts and scientific studies, and legal opinions. 

This module is one of 9 modules developed by the Committee on Preparing the Next Generation of Policy Makers for Science-Based Decisions, an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Science, Technology, and Law. The modules were developed for students of law, public policy, medicine, journalism and business, and are intended to provide early exposure to materials that elucidate the role that scientific information and scientific processes play in decision-making across diverse venues. Access all modules.