Under an eagerly awaited ruling by New York’s highest court, plaintiffs and defendants in cases alleging injuries caused by chemical exposure will need to carefully assess the amount of the chemical to which the plaintiff was exposed.
In Parker v. Mobil Oil Corp., 2006 WL 2945397 (N.Y., Oct. 17, 2006), the Court of Appeals refused to require a plaintiff to prove the exact quantity of his exposure, but made clear that there must be a concrete scientific foundation for proof that the chemical caused his injuries. The court held that expert opinions that are “subjective” or “conclusory,” or that are not based on “a scientific expression” of the plaintiff’s exposure, are not sufficient to prove that the chemical caused the claimed injuries.
