"Marcia Angell's outstanding book explains clearly and fairly the combination of greed, fear, ignorance, junk science, and media hype that created this national litigation nightmare. Everyone interested in the tort system, science, and medicine should heed the lessons that Dr. Angell teaches."
"An indispensable guide to the breast implant madness—litigation that will forever stand as a monument to the inability of our civil justice system to sort out latter-day Ptolemies from Galileos."
"[A] sober and rigorous examination of the controversy over silicone breast implants . . . an important statement, not just about silicone implants, but about other matters at the intersection of law, science, and opinion. [Dr. Angell’s] book is . . . a warning that rationality, like much else in the fragile porcelain of society, can be weakened by lack of vigilance."
Angell, executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, explores here a preposterous situation: an industrial giant, Dow Corning, forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by numerous lawsuits filed on behalf of recipients of Dow's silicone breast implantsdespite the fact that medical evidence to date shows no link between implants and autoimmune disorders, cancer or any other disease. In a style that ranges from gently didactic to plodding, Angell describes the events leading up to the FDA's ban on implants, the torrent of lawsuits that followed and the implications of the verdictsoverwhelmingly favorable to the plaintiffs and often carrying cash awards in the millions of dollarsfor science and industry. Manufacturers have threatened to stop producing heart valves, shunts and other vital medical devices because of the threat of liability; further, suppliers of raw materials for these devices often refuse to sell to American companies for fear of ending up in an American courtroom. The author gives a clear explanation of the way science calculates risk (by considering populations, not individuals) and ably contrasts this with our judicial system, where the focus is on the individual seeking restitution. Angell is an effective champion of the scientific method and does a good job of exposing the chaos caused by a runaway tort system, but she offers no resolution to the state of affairs she describes. (July)
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Angell, executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, addresses the controversy over silicone breast implants, which were banned and the subject of huge lawsuits despite dubious scientific evidence of harm. She suggests that lawyers and journalists have misinterpreted scientific results and ignored evidence, leading to the public's growing mistrust of science and the scientific method. Replacing cynicism with a more balanced ability to view scientific results critically is crucial to our health, notes Angell. But her case for scientific objectivity is disappointingly murky. She sweepingly dismisses the validity of controversial ideas only now being thoroughly researched (e.g., alternatives to technological medicine, criticisms of male biases in science), which undermines her credibility. Still, this remains a compelling book. Recommended for public and academic libraries.Constance A. Rinaldo, Dartmouth Coll., Biomedical Lib., Hanover, N.H.
A well-crafted demonstration of how differently the law, the public, and science regard evidence, using the breast implant controversy as a case in point.
When the FDA banned silicone-filled breast implants in 1992, lawsuits by women who claimed to have been damaged by them skyrocketed. Eventually the implant manufacturers, having lost one case after another, agreed to the largest class-action settlement ever ( billion), despite the fact that as yet there is no scientific evidence that implants cause connective tissue disease. For Angell, executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, the breast implant story has several major themes: goverment regulation and its role in American society, excessive litigation within a flawed tort system, the public's lack of understanding of scientific evidence, the role of so- called expert testimony in the courtoom, greed and corruption, and the media's alarmist approach to medical news. When Angell, a self-described feminist and liberal Democrat, began researching the breast implant story, she was prepared to find corporate greed at its core. What she found was that the shortcomings of big business paled in comparison with those of three professions: law, medicine, and journalism. As for the law, she outlines problems and suggests reforms in our tort system and calls for raising scientific standards in the courtroom, especially in the use of expert witnesses. She castigates doctors who have lucrative arrangements with lawyers to provide their clients with dubious diagnoses, and journalists who stir up health scares in a gullible public.
An exceptionally clear explanation of the nature of scientific evidence, and a powerful plea for broader public understanding of it.
