CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEAL ISSUES FIRST PUBLISHED STATE COURT OPINION DISCUSSING THE LIMITS OF USING ANIMAL STUDIES TO ESTABLISH CAUSATION IN HUMANS
On July 1, 2004,
the Third Appellate District issued Baxter Healthcare v. Denton,
Case No. C043352, which contains the first helpful language in a published
California decision on the limits of using animal studies to establish
causation in humans. (A copy of the opinion can be found here: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/C043352.PDF or
by clicking
here.)
In Baxter Healthcare, the court affirmed, as being supported
by substantial evidence, the trial court's determination that the chemical
in question
did not cause a significant risk of liver cancer in humans based on Baxter's
expert evidence that (1) the biological mechanism by which the chemical
causes liver cancer in laboratory animals does not operate in
humans; (2) even if the same mechanism of carcinogenisis operated in
humans, persons
exposed to the chemical under all conceivable conditions would receive
a dose that is insufficient to cause cancer; and (3) humans have been
exposed
to the chemical for many years, sometimes at relatively large doses,
and have not developed cancer as a result. (Typed opn., pp. 13-14, 45-49.)
The court determined that, in contrast, the state failed to demonstrate
that the chemical was "known to the state to cause cancer" because
it relied only on a "mere possibility or suspicion [the chemical]
will cause cancer" - that is, it pointed to "nothing in the
appellate record indicating that [the chemical] [was] listed for any
reason other than that it is known to cause liver cancer in rats and
mice." (Typed opn., p. 47.)
If you have further questions about the case, or questions concerning
the admission of expert scientific testimony and toxic tort causation,
please
feel free to contact M.C. Sungaila at msungaila@horvitzlevy.com or
(818) 995-0800.
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