Synopses & Reviews
Late night comedians and journalists eagerly seized upon the case of an elderly woman who sued McDonalds when she spilled hot coffee in her lap as a prime example of frivolous litigation. But as Rustad and Koenig argue, cases such as these are an incomplete and misleading characterization of tort law. Corporations have successfully waged a public relations battle to create the impression that most lawsuits are spurious, when in fact the opposite is true: tort law plays a crucial role in protecting consumers from dangerous and sometimes life-threatening hazards. Without legal remedies, corporations would suffer no penalty for choosing profits over public health and safely.
In Defense of Tort Law is the first book to systematically examine the social, legal and policy dimensions of the tort reform debate. This insightful analysis of solid empirical data looks beyond popular myths about frivolous lawsuits, and tackles a variety of contentious issues: Should punitive damages be capped? Who is favored by tort law? Who loses, and why?
Koenig and Rustads detailed case study analysis also reveals disturbing gender inequities in a legal system that is largely dominated by men. Because women are disproportionately injured by medical products, impermissible HMO cost cutting, medical malpractice and sexual exploitation, restrictions on the rights to recovery in these fields inevitably creates gender injustice. Engaging and up to date, In Defense of Tort Law also identifies aspects of the current law that require further elaboration, including the need for measures to combat cybercrime against consumers.
Review
"Explains why a significant body of scientific research has been largely ignored by cancer research institutions. Hess has clearly demonstrated the valuable role that social scientists can have in offering a neutral perspective on medical research and how it is shaped by cultural bias."
"Hess has made a careful study of one of the most intriguing themes that weaves through the recent history of unconventional approaches to cancer. Every researcher, physician, and general reader interested in this field should welcome this important and incisive contribution."
Review
“This book is an important addition to the growing body of works . . . that consumer advocates and attorneys can use to defend the civil justice system in the legislatures, in courtrooms, and in the court of public opinion.”
-Trial Magazine,
Review
“A well-documented and eminently readable examination of the tort reform debate in the United States.”
-The Advocate,
Review
“A compendium of defenses against decades of tort reform misinformation and disinformation, this monograph will best serve undergraduates as a library reference.”
-The Law and Politics Book Review,
Synopsis
Growing numbers of cancer patients are exploring diet, food supplements, herbs, and nontoxic immunotherapies like bacterial vaccines as a means of therapy. Yet most cancer research organizations refuse to even evaluate these alternatives.
Can Bacteria Cause Cancer? argues convincingly that unless this neglected world of alternative therapies is properly scrutinized, the medical Vietnam of the twentieth century may well affect one in two people by the twenty-first century.
David J. Hess investigates one of the great medical mysteries of the twentieth centurythe relationship between bacteria and chronic disease. Recently scientists have overturned long-held beliefs by demonstrating that bacterial infections cause many ulcers; they are now reconsidering the role of bacterial infections in other chronic diseases, such as arthritis. Is it possible, Hess asks, that bacteria can contribute to the many other known causes of cancer?
To answer this intriguing question, Hess takes us into the world of alternative cancer researchers. Maintaining that their work has been actively suppressed rather than simply dismissed, he examines their claims-that bacterial vaccines have led to some dramatic cases of long-term cancer remissionand the scientific potential of their theories. Economic interests and cultural values, he demonstrates, have influenced the rush toward radiation and chemotherapy and the current cul-de-sac of toxic treatments.
More than a medical mystery story, Can Bacteria Cause Cancer? is a dramatic case study of the failure of the war on cancer.
Synopsis
Growing numbers of cancer patients are exploring diet, food supplements, herbs, and nontoxic immunotherapies like bacterial vaccines as a means of therapy. Yet most cancer research organizations refuse to even evaluate these alternatives.
Can Bacteria Cause Cancer? argues convincingly that unless this neglected world of alternative therapies is properly scrutinized, the medical Vietnam of the twentieth century may well affect one in two people by the twenty-first century.
David J. Hess investigates one of the great medical mysteries of the twentieth centurythe relationship between bacteria and chronic disease. Recently scientists have overturned long-held beliefs by demonstrating that bacterial infections cause many ulcers; they are now reconsidering the role of bacterial infections in other chronic diseases, such as arthritis. Is it possible, Hess asks, that bacteria can contribute to the many other known causes of cancer?
To answer this intriguing question, Hess takes us into the world of alternative cancer researchers. Maintaining that their work has been actively suppressed rather than simply dismissed, he examines their claims-that bacterial vaccines have led to some dramatic cases of long-term cancer remissionand the scientific potential of their theories. Economic interests and cultural values, he demonstrates, have influenced the rush toward radiation and chemotherapy and the current cul-de-sac of toxic treatments.
More than a medical mystery story, Can Bacteria Cause Cancer? is a dramatic case study of the failure of the war on cancer.
About the Author
DAVID J. HESS is Professor of Anthropology in the Science and Technology Studies Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His books include Science Studies: An Advanced Introduction (also available from NYU Press), Science in the New Age and Science and Technology in a Multicultural World.