In this article written for the USLAW Network, Goldberg Segalla attorneys Thomas F. Segalla, William J. Greagan, and Matthew D. Cabral examine a number of fundamental shifts occurring in the world of lead exposure litigation — and how they are impacting the defense of injury claims.

While changes on the regulatory side are likely to encourage the plaintiff’s bar to pursue lead exposure cases at lower levels of exposure, an increase in education of the judiciary on lead issues has opened up new avenues of defense. “There is a growing recognition among courts that other factors (e.g., socioeconomic factors, family history, and heredity) play a role in a child’s neuropsychological development and that evidence of these factors is relevant and admissible,” the authors write. “As a result, courts are beginning to allow discovery of health, IQ, and education information from non-party family members – material that can prove critical to the successful defense of a lead exposure claim.”

Read the full article:

• “Lead Litigation: Recent Trends and Key Strategies for Defense Counsel,” USLAW, Fall/Winter 2012