Interesting and Helpful Facts about Toxic Torts

While physical injury cases can be decided without digging deeper into scientific details, toxic tort cases require a somewhat more complex approach to come up with a fair judgment. Namely, it requires the statement of a reliable medical expert witness. Here are some basic facts about the technical realm of toxic tort claims and litigation that every lawyer should arm themselves with:

Forensic Toxicology: The Need for Expert Witnesses

Dealing with mysterious criminal cases requires forensic science to obtain fact-based evidence. All evidence has to be carefully examined by a forensic toxicologist, a professional who has vast knowledge of chemicals and their effects on physical matter. A forensic toxicologist in this scenario becomes an expert witness and his opinion can serve either the defense or the prosecution.

Toxic Tort Challenges: Why You Need Expert Witness

Toxic torts are lawsuits filed by or for individuals who were exposed to toxic substances, resulting in injuries, sicknesses, or other damages. For toxic tort to succeed, three things have to be proven: first, that a substance involved is toxic; second, that the plaintiff was exposed to it; and third, that the exposure to the substance indeed caused harm to the plaintiff. Unfortunately, proving these three things is easier said than done.

This is mainly because of two major challenges confronting plaintiffs: causation and latency periods. In many cases the testimony of a toxicology expert witness is needed to overcome these challenges.

Causation is self-explanatory. While toxic chemicals can indeed cause injury and sickness, other “non-toxic” factors may also lead to the same result. For example, it can be difficult to prove that a certain substance is directly responsible for causing cancer in someone, since the disease itself can be caused by heredity. Determining causation also extends to the parties involved in the incident. For instance, exposure to toxic chemicals at the workplace can be blamed on the supervisors, the chemicals’ manufacturers and distributors, and other similar groups or individuals.

The latency period, or the amount of time between exposure and the onset of injuries or sickness, can also stop a toxic tort dead in its tracks. Certain chemicals, for example, are known to cause cancer after 40 years. Defendants can argue that the plaintiff have contracted the disease from other sources that the plaintiff may also have been exposed to.

The Different Forms of Misdiagnosis

Did you know that as much as 1 in 20 patients in outpatient clinics or doctor’s offices are misdiagnosed every year? That’s according to a recent study published in the BMJ Quality & Safety journal. This figure does not include similar cases that may have happened in hospital settings. 

 

Misdiagnosis can come in several forms, including those discussed below.

Doing too little

In some instances, the diagnosis completely misses the patient’s condition, or passes off a serious illness or injury as non-serious. For instance, stomach pains that are treated simply as constipation could later be found to be a case of internal bleeding or a cancerous growth. Improper diagnosis or treatment can be construed as negligence on the part of the doctor.

Doing too much

Conversely, the doctor may diagnose a patient with a serious condition. A mass detected in radiographic images and treated with cancer-fighting drugs may turn out on further examination to be benign. Excessive or unnecessary treatment which stems from erroneous medical judgments or aggressive treatment approaches can also constitute negligence.

These two main types of misdiagnosis can result to serious harm or even death, which could be grounds for a medical malpractice suit. In proving that negligence had indeed transpired, the testimony of an internal medicine or forensic toxicology expert can be helpful. Such a professional can identify deviant treatments, poisoning drugs, and other possible harmful factors that can arise from medical negligence.

Discerning the Facts of a Legal Case

All case-winning legal arguments have one thing in common: they are transparent and informed presentations of facts that best explain the circumstances of the crime or civil issue brought before the court. However, on occasion, it may be difficult for laypersons to decipher the meaning and significance of each piece of evidence presented before a judge. In such cases, the skills of an expert witness might be necessary.

Figuring out Alcohol Poisoning

Once in a while, it’s good to have a drink with your friends; you bond and talk with them over a few shots, and simply enjoy each other’s company. However, time does fly when you’re having fun and it’s possible that you would have downed several shots more than you think you had. Such instances can result into alcohol poisoning, and if something bad does happen, a forensic toxicology specialist will help uncover the truth.

Prescription Drugs in Light of Forensic Toxicology

Medicine has always utilized pharmaceuticals in the treatment of their patients. Drug recommendation and administration are both part of the complex web of patient treatment. Generally, these substances in virtually all forms of matter are aimed to yield eradication of a disease. If this were not possible, the drugs would at least relieve the ailment's symptoms.

What is Hair Testing?

Hair is made up of keratin, a strong structural protein that comprises three parts, the medulla, the cortex, and the cuticle. Beyond its anthropological and biological meaning, this biomaterial has the ability to store what passes through the body. That’s why the courts use hair testing as a way to remove a person from suspicion or connect certain suspects with criminal activity. Forensic toxicologists are the people responsible for the analyzing of hair for the courts.

Facts About the Dangers of Lead Poisoning

Lead is one of the naturally-occurring metals that can prove very poisonous to humans, especially when ingested or inhaled over an extended period. Lead buildup in the body could cause various illnesses including cancer and even brain damage. What do you do when you suspect that someone you know has been poisoned by this substance?

Lead poisoning is very unlikely to be new; experts believe that mankind has been using lead for more than 6,000 years. Children are at the highest risk of contracting diseases from lead exposure because they are more sensitive than adults and they usually put things in their mouths, particularly objects that may be contaminated by lead dust.

If you suspect that you or a loved one is suffering from lead poisoning, see a doctor immediately. When lead poisoning tests prove positive and you decide to file a case for investigation and penalty, you might as well seek the help of a highly-qualified medical expert witness.

Consulting a reputable toxicology expert witness is necessary to obtaining a professional opinion on causation. Toxicologists have extensive knowledge and experience on the nature and effects of toxins and poisons including chemicals, pharmaceutical products, metals, and alcohol.

As professionals, toxicologists can conduct thorough analysis or scientific investigation and present an unbiased report after research for purposes of litigation. Through this method, the court will be able to determine whether or not there is negligence on the part of the defendant.

Forensic Toxicology Can Debunk the Poppy Defense

When it comes to detecting substance abuse, urinalysis remains to be the tool of choice by forensic toxicologists. Recent improvements in drug tests may soon accurately separate positive cases of heroin use from false-positive ones, wherein individuals have only ingested poppy seeds and not taken an illegal drug. These false-positive cases have presented problems to authorities because of the possibility that drug users may only be using the “poppy seed defense” to their advantage.

The term relates to how people can test positive for heroin abuse simply by consuming pastries made using poppy seeds. Depending on the quantity of seeds consumed, a person may test positive even up to 60 hours after ingesting the food containing poppy seeds.

While there are some claims that poppy seed ingestion do not make false-positive results in hair tests, forensic specialists have doubts as to its accuracy. This is why urinalysis remains the top choice when it comes to detecting substance use.

Should subsequent studies regarding the use of effective markers for street heroin prove successful, forensic toxicologists will be able to provide an expert opinion regarding a person’s alleged heroin use based on the chemicals found on the urine sample. Such professionals can help a defense or plaintiff attorney with accurate medical assessments regarding the sobriety or condition of the individual in question.

Why You Need a Toxicology Expert Witness

In a nutshell, death investigation uses forensic toxicology to identify the cause of death. In this discipline, toxicologists usually study the concentration of substances ingested by a person and their effect to the body. Blood and hair samples are frequently used to detect the chemicals present in the system. In fact, a 10 ml blood sample is enough to verify the presence of a toxic substance. When it comes to hair samples, toxicologists would refer to the hair follicle as it is useful in determining medium to long-term substance abuse.

A deceased person's gastric contents may also show undigested substances that have been ingested before death. It is also possible to come up with a rough estimation on the time of death depending on the state of digestion of stomach contents.

A toxicology expert witness strengthens evidences when criminal cases are brought to court. They provide a detailed analysis of the substances found during the autopsy and even on the samples collected by the investigators. The outcome of the case largely depends on how accurate the interpretations are. Plaintiffs or defendants will have to seek the services of a toxicology expert witness to have reliable documentation needed for proper litigation. They may even ask the toxicologist to provide testimony before the court.

What is Forensic Toxicology?

The early 1800s and early 1900s are usually referred to by era historians as the “golden age of poisoning”. The incidence of poisoning was so high during the said period that scientists became driven to find antidotes or solutions, eventually giving birth the science of forensic toxicology. The tasks of forensic toxicologists include the examination of blood, tissue samples, and body fluids of a victim to determine if the cause of death was due to drugs or other poisonous substances.

Generally, forensic toxicology is a discipline in forensic science that focuses on the study of toxic substances. To be more specific, it involves the study of drugs, alcohol, and poisons, and their absorption, distribution, and effect to the human body. There are four disciplines under forensic toxicology, namely death investigation toxicology, human performance toxicology, doping control, and forensic workplace drug testing.

Death investigation toxicology focuses on identifying the role of alcohol, drugs, and poison as the cause of death of some people, and is typically practiced by pathologists and medical examiners. On the other hand, human performance toxicology tackles the effects of alcohol and drugs on the performance and behavior of humans.

Finally, doping control is frequently applied in the world of competitive sports as it assists in detecting the use of banned performance enhancing drugs by athletes. Forensic workplace drug testing is used to ensure that employees or workers are compliant with safety standards that strictly prohibit the use and abuse of illegal drugs or substances.

Entering the Odd and Exciting World of Forensics

The world is full of jobs that only a certain type of people can handle: jobs that involve intricacies and require a keen interest in research before professionals could be qualified to perform extraordinary duties. One of these jobs is forensic toxicology.

There are not too many people who enter the world of forensics because of its very demanding nature. For one to become a toxicologist, a student should have a genuine interest in science, especially in clinical and analytical chemistry and pharmacology. One should also have the courage to cut open a cadaver and get in contact with all types of bodily fluids like blood, urine, and saliva, among others.

The student will also be exposed to practically all internal organs, as there will be times when tissue samples need to be obtained or extracted from the brain, liver, and eyes, to name a few. A forensic toxicologist's job is crucial, as the data they gather are important pieces of a crime puzzle. They are expected to provide reliable interpretation of laboratory results with regards to the presence of toxic chemicals on the deceased and their possible effects on the body.

Forensics is an exciting career path and becoming a toxicologist is one way of entering a world of gathering evidence, finding clues, and solving mysteries.

Toxic Tort Cases: Importance of Toxicology Experts

Toxicology expert witnesses are board-certified professionals who are called to testify in court for a wide range of cases involving medical toxicology, environmental toxicology, poisoning, substance abuse, and nutritional diseases to name a few. They are knowledgeable in many disciplines and have a proven track record in dealing with the aforementioned cases.

One of the most common cases handled by these experts is toxic tort, which is an illness or an injury that occurs when an individual comes in contact with a toxic substance such as asbestos, toxic mold, solvents, pesticides, and even pharmaceutical drugs. A lawyer specializing in toxic court cases conducts research and gathers the necessary data to present in court, and will most likely seek and consult a toxicology expert witness whose knowledge would enable him to provide a clear and reliable testimony.

A reliable toxicology expert witness should practice environmental, occupational, forensic, or medical toxicology. He or she should be able to evaluate and testify for cases that involve carbon monoxide poisoning, adverse drug reactions, substance abuse, and outbreaks. Knowledge in fields such as public health, emergency medicine, industrial hygiene, and health sciences is also necessary. Apart from gaining experience after handling several toxicology cases, a toxicology expert witness should also be able to testify and give his expert opinion without bias.