Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #121737

Anthony Robbins, MD, MPA, Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, 617 636 0834, Anthony.robbins@tufts.edu

Civil litigation uncovers a great deal of otherwise unavailable information about practices and products which may cause disease and injury. However, common practices in and related to lawsuits, trials, and courts can operate to deprive public health authorities and the public itself of information that might be helpful to prevent disease, injury, disability, and death. I describe the important debate about “court-sponsored” secrecy: should courts, as public entities devoted to dispute resolution, tolerate, endorse, or protect secrecy when the sequestered information might help protect the public health?

Learning Objectives:

• A member of the audience, after hearing this presentation should be able to recognize common legal situations related to lawsuits, trials and court actions which result in useful information being withheld from public health officials; information that might have helped them take action to protect the public.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.