Check out Supreme Court of Ohio Opinion Summaries

October 4, 2007

_Supreme Court of Ohio Opinion Summaries_

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(Oct. 3, 2007) In a decision announced today, the Supreme Court of Ohio held

that in order to establish a prima facie claim that a medical condition was

the result of exposure to a toxic substance, the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit

must establish by means of expert testimony (1) that the toxin is capable of

causing the medical condition (general causation); and (2) that the toxic

substance in fact caused the claimant's condition (specific causation).

The Court's 6-1 decision was authored by Justice Terrence O'Donnell.

The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that

Bernstein's testimony was inadequate to establish a prima facie case because

Bernstein

did not investigate and rule out other potential causes for the employees'

symptoms or establish a probative link between specific dates or incidents on

which an employee's exposure to high levels of mold correlated with specific

medical complaints. The Ottawa County Court of Common Pleas granted the

motion for summary judgment and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims.

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