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'Fear of Cancer': A Med Mal Nightmare?

By Michael Brophy
August 27, 2003

Can fear of cancer be litigated? And if so, what is the potential impact on the med mal community? On March 10 the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision in Norfolk and Western Railway Co. v. Ayers, 123 S.Ct. 1210 (2003), in which it ruled by a five to four vote that railway workers who suffer from asbestosis would be allowed to recover damages for fear of asbestos-related cancer. Rail-worker plaintiffs would still bear the burden of proof that their fear was 'genuine and serious,' but the Supreme Court did not specify how such evidence would be demonstrated or refuted. This article considers whether the Ayers decision could extend to medical malpractice litigation.

The Norfolk Decision

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