The tort or personal injury law is the main part of the legal system that provides redress for injuries suffered. It is tempting to say that it has changed before our eyes, except we cannot see it. These modifications are occurring because three Supreme Court decisions – Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc., General Electric v. Joiner, and Kumho Tire v. Carmichael – increased judicial screening of expert (largely scientific) testimony in litigation before experts could testify before a jury. However, it is difficult for all but the best informed to comprehend them. Some who understand them welcome them, some do not, and some will have more mixed assessments of them. However, most citizens cannot even have an opinion on the relevant issues because they are unaware of them and because the topics themselves are not easily accessible. The barriers to understanding the resulting legal changes are the result of subtleties most of us never think about – issues about scientific evidence and reasoning, and legal procedures that are complex and inaccessible to most of us.

The actual and potential transformations of this part of our legal system are too important to remain hidden and too important for an informed citizenry to be left in the dark about them. Citizens risk having their access to the tort law and the possibility of restitution for injuries within it reduced and they will not know it. Judges and lawyers are at risk of being manipulated by slogans about “sound science,” not realizing there are more scientifically accurate and legitimate ways to think about science, law, and the interaction between the two. There is even a risk to the legitimacy of the law itself, if mistaken scientific arguments are used to frustrate its aims. The issues posed by the potential changes in our legal system are not easy, however. In order to “see” and to better appreciate them, we must understand more about some of the procedures that occur before trial, not something most of us know. We also must understand some basics of the sciences that assist in revealing human harm from exposure to toxic substances. In addition, there are subtleties about these sciences and different evidentiary patterns of harm that must be appreciated. Too simplistic a view of the subjects will inadvertently skew the science, the law, and our protections under it.