Forensic epidemiology in the global context: A case study of pfi zer and the trovafloxacin trial

Abstract

Events in one part of the world often have considerable repercussions and implications for populations living, working, and traveling far afield from where the original incidents may have occurred. This chapter uses the trovafloxacin clinical trial to illustrate both the critical role to be played in such cases by epidemiologists and epidemiologic methods and the legal issues that surround the use of epidemiology in the legal resolution of such cases, that is, the role of forensic epidemiology. The proceedings in this case demonstrate the interplay between law and epidemiology and the increasing internationalization of epidemiologic and clinical investigations. The court's recognition of the relationship between Pfizer's conduct and the provisions of various human right accords and declarations suggests that the field of forensic epidemiology must move beyond consideration of only the uses of epidemiology in litigation and other legal functions to address, as well, issues of human rights and ethics.