Use of court records for supplementing occupational disease surveillance

Our plain-English summary of Use of court records for supplementing occupational disease surveillance, by E. Schwartz, P. Landrigan (American Journal of Public Health, 1987).

The study

• Authors: E. Schwartz, P. Landrigan
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health
• Published: 1987;77(11):1457-8
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000999).

Abstract

To conduct surveillance of occupationally related health events, the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services analyzes death certificates and workers' compensation claims. In an effort to bolster these limited data sources, a previously unrecognized data-set comprised of court records was explored. Court records obtained from the Federal District Court proved to be a readily accessible and detailed source of information for identifying suspected cases of asbestos-related disease and potential sources of asbestos exposure.

In plain English

This short report from New Hampshire tested whether court records could add to the state's tracking of work-related disease. The authors reviewed tort claims filed in the Federal District Court for the District of New Hampshire from 1981 to 1985 that alleged asbestos-related disease or asbestos exposure. They compared these with death certificates listing asbestosis or mesothelioma and with workers' compensation claims alleging asbestos-related disease. Court records identified 22 asbestosis cases, against 10 from death certificates and 2 from workers' compensation claims, and none of the 22 appeared in the other sources. Death certificates identified the most mesothelioma cases (29). Court records identified 5, four of which were also on death certificates. Court records also found three asbestos-related cancers (larynx and lung) not detected elsewhere, and gave the most detail about the alleged source of exposure. Cases found in court records clustered in three areas of the state. The authors noted that allegations in complaints are often disputed, so these cases must be treated as suspected, not confirmed. They concluded that court records are a readily accessible and potentially useful surveillance source.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive comparison of disease surveillance data sources (review of court records, death certificates and workers' compensation claims)
• Who was studied: Tort claims filed in the Federal District Court for the District of New Hampshire, 1981 to 1985, alleging asbestos-related disease or exposure; New Hampshire deaths noting asbestosis or mesothelioma; New Hampshire workers' compensation claims alleging asbestos-related disease
• Exposure: Asbestos exposure in general (no fiber types named), at facilities such as an asbestos manufacturer, paper manufacturers, a shipyard, an asbestos textile mill, a railroad, electric companies, machine shops, and also municipal buildings, a school and a rehabilitation center
• Main results:
  • Court records identified the most asbestosis cases of any source: 22
  • None of the asbestosis cases found in court records appeared in death certificates or workers' compensation claims
  • Death certificates (resident deaths) listed 10 asbestosis and 29 mesothelioma cases; workers' compensation claims listed 2 asbestosis and 1 mesothelioma case; court records listed 22 asbestosis and 5 mesothelioma cases (New Hampshire, 1981-85)
  • Death certificates identified the most mesothelioma cases (29)
  • Four of the five mesothelioma cases in court records were also on death certificates, and one of the five was also in workers' compensation claims
  • Court records identified three asbestos-related cancers (larynx and lung) not detected by the other sources
  • Court records gave the most detail on the alleged source of exposure, including company name, address, dates of exposure, occupation and disease
  • Cases identified from court records clustered in three geographic areas of New Hampshire, which the authors linked to former industrial facilities that made or used asbestos
  • A lag of one to two years between the appearance of injury and the filing of a claim was common
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that court records are a readily accessible and potentially useful data source for surveillance of particular occupational diseases such as asbestosis
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Allegations in complaints are often disputed by defendants, so cases identified from court records must be considered suspected rather than confirmed until resolved
  • What a case file contains depends on how far the court proceedings have gone
  • Tort claims can be filed in both state and federal courts, so full case finding may require searching both, and state courts may be harder to search

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Disease, Death Certificate, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Hospital records as a data source for occupational disease surveillance: a feasibility study — J. Balmes, D. Rempel, et al. (1992)
• Missing records in occupational disease epidemiology — P.E. Enterline, G.M. Marsh (1982)
• Hospital records: an underutilized source of information regarding occupational diseases and exposures — G.M. Liss, R.A. Kusiak, et al. (1997)
• Comparison of an Australian food-frequency questionnaire with diet records: implications for nutrition surveillance — G.L. Ambrosini, D. Mackerras, et al. (2003)
• Records of the Australian Mesothelioma Surveillance Program have been lost! — M. Hendrickx (2008)
• Epidemiology and the law: courts and confidence intervals — T. Christoffel, S.P. Teret (1991)

Browse more research in American Journal of Public Health, or return to medical research.