When the Supreme Court decided the Daubert case in June 1993, two recent verdicts in silicone-gel breast implant cases were fresh in memory.[1] The verdicts were large by the standards of the time, and the evidence presented for the claims that silicone caused autoimmune disease was extremely weak. [read post]

Supp. 2d 992, 1199–1200 (E.D.N.Y. 2006), rev’d on other grounds, 522 F.3d 215 (2d Cir. 2008) (describing confounding in studies of low-tar cigarettes, where authors failed to account for confounding and assessing healthier life styles in users) Third Circuit In re Zoloft Prods. [read post]