A study compiled by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis warns of medical science being slowed down or even halted as a result of class-action lawsuits. Doctor Brad Racette, a neurologist who is the study’s lead author, says researchers who publish preliminary findings pointing to links between environmental circumstances and certain medical conditions can get dragged into court to testify – even though the findings are only preliminary. He says this prevents the researchers from doing further study to solidify their earlier findings. Doctor Racette points to his own experience in which his studies tentatively linked welding to increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. A flood of subpoeanas for research data prevented him from doing the follow-up work needed to either support of reject the tentative finding. He adds being hauled into court prevents medical researchers from searching for potential cures for debilitating diseases.
