About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

40 Jurimetrics 321 (1999-2000)
Epidemiology, Justice, and the Probability of Causation

handle is hein.journals/juraba40 and id is 333 raw text is: EPIDEMIOLOGY, JUSTICE, AND THE PROBABILITY OF CAUSATION Sander Greenland James M. Robins* ABSTRACT: The concept of probability of causation forms the basis of important legal standards, legislation, and compensation schemes, which in turn use epidemiologic data to estimate the probability of causation. This usage is a misapplication of epidemiol- ogy, because it has been shown that without imposing restrictive biologic assumptions, epidemiologic data cannot supply estimates of the probability of causation. Although the misapplication of the probability of causation concept responds to the need to resolve cases in a rational and consistent manner, this need does not justify continued misuse of epidemiologic data in compensation decisions. Compensation schemes and legal standards must recognize that an upper bound on the probability of causation cannot be determined from epidemiologic data alone; biologic models also are needed. Although equitable compensation schemes can be formulated without reference to the probability of causation, all schemes must deal with fundamental methodologic uncertainties in estimation. CITATION: Sander Greenland and James M. Robins, Epidemiology, Justice, and the Probability of Causation, 40 Jurimetrics J. 321-340 (2000). This article concerns the distinction between the excess incidence caused by an exposure (the attributable fraction) and the probability that the exposure caused an individual's disease (the probability ofcausation). Our points are not *Sander Greenland is Professor, Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772. James M. Robins is Professor, Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115-9957.The authors are grateful to Ben Armstrong, Jan Beyea, Geoffrey Howe, Hal Morgenstem, Mark Parascandola, Diana Petitti, Jonathan Samet, Noel Weiss, and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments on this manuscript. SPRING 2000

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most