Air Date: 10-22-2010|Episode 184
In our continuing effort to present all sides of the issues this week we present Attorney David Governo and Dr. Howard Sandler for the defense…
Full Description:
In our continuing effort to present all sides of the issues this week we present Attorney David Governo and Dr. Howard Sandler for the defense. Mr. Governo the founding partner of the Governo Law Firm in Boston, Massachusetts and an expert in toxic tort and environmental litigation. Dr Sandler is a physician specializing in Occupational and Environmental Medicine who served as a medical officer with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, CDC, USPHS), a consultant to the U.S. OSHA, and U.S. EPA and an invited presenter on occupational health causation for the National Academy of Sciences. He has also testified on request before the U.S. Congress and state legislatures on occupational health issues including microbials.
Z-Man’s Blog:
Governo & Sandler say
On today’s episode of IAQradio Howard Sandler, MD and David Governo, Esq. covered a diverse range of subjects of interest to IAQradio listeners: litigation, medicine, Chinese drywall, lead paint. Both guests have differing opinions from those of alternative medicine physician Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker and have been on opposing sides in cases in which he has testified.
Dr. Sandler nuggets:
· Opines that his role is the same when treating a patient and testifying as an expert witness.
· Environments that are too clean may cause a predisposition to allergies.
· Offered two examples of diverse populations exposed to high levels of mold who didn’t show adverse health effects: HIV sufferers in gulf coast and remediation and cleanup workers in New Orleans following Katrina.
· Chronic inflammatory response syndrome isn’t a recognized illness in conventional medical literature.
· Moisture surrogate measure: consider the allergenic potential of rodents, insects and dust mites in a wet environment.
· Allergic asthma, what is adequate exposure? Most allergy sufferers are allergic to multiple substances.
· Epidemiology factors to be considered, the Bradford-Hill Criteria.
· The effect of stress and psychosocial factors need to be considered in diagnosing and treatment of illness.
Dave Governo nuggets:
· Beware of anecdotal evidence, built upon on the internet research which does a disservice to individuals causing them to jump to conclusions and a misdiagnosis.
· When queried about the evolution of mold litigation, he opined that today there are fewer frivolous mold claims involving alleged personal injury and plaintiffs are less aggressive and more selective.
· Toxicant VERSUS Litigant relationship, where the Toxicant gets scientific research while the Litigant gets media coverage.
· “Litigation messes up the marketplace.” No cost benefit analysis was done for EPA’s Lead Renovation and Painting Rule. This controversial government mandated program has resulted in large amounts of time, effort and money being focused in the wrong place.
· “Judicial hell holes”, legal districts where large verdicts skew settlement values.
Dieterisms:
· Can’t develop dose response with human subjects.
· Smoking 1-2 cigarettes per day shows virtually same risk as background levels.
Today’s Music: Throwdown (Boston Legal Theme Song) by Danny Lux & Billy Valentine, There’s A Doctor In The House, by the Who
Z-Man Signing Off
