Causation alternative causes

Even when Mr. Z s expert makes the case for specific causation, it remains possible that there are other medical and exposure issues that make alternative causes even more likely than benzene. Possible alternative causes are always in the spotlight, at least among defendants. 

The juxtaposition of Moore and Westberry highlights the significant differences in interpretation of Daubert and its progeny by lower courts. Westberry has been frequently cited for the proposition that clinical medical differential diagnosis, if properly undertaken, can satisfy the standards of Daubert independently. The Fourth Circuit stated that while [a] differential diagnosis that fails to take serious account of other potential causes may be so lacking that it cannot provide a reliable basis for an opinion on causation, no requirement exists that the physician must rule out each and every possible alternative cause. 

If an accident cannot be anticipated or expected by anyone, then it is indeed due to chance or to forces beyond our understanding (Figure 17-1). In that case, the term accident causation is an oxymoron. Alternatively, if we accept the notion that traffic accidents are not chance events or acts of God, then they can be predicted and prevented. This rationale led the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the journal Nature to replace the term accident with the term crash . With this approach we assume that if a person with some relevant expertise has at his or her disposal all of the necessary data immediately before an accident happens, he or she can foresee the accident. From the perspective of that expert the accident can or could have been avoided. The knowledge that is available to our mythical expert is what we seek in our attempts to understand the reasons or causes of accidents. 

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