A controversial expert witness for plaintiffs has filed an unusual non-party appeal of a Washington state judge's decision finding his theory that snackers can contract lung disease from exposure to microwave popcorn is not scientifically sound.
Dr. David Egilman, an associate professor of community health at Brown University, has made millions from testifying as an expert witness in about 100 personal injury cases. His non-party appeal challenges a July 2 ruling in the case of a Spokane, Wash., man who sued several companies involved in the making of microwave popcorn or its butter flavoring.
Granting summary dismissal of the case, U.S. District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson shredded Egilman's testimony that Larry Newkirk “within a reasonable degree of medical certainty developed lung disease as a result of inhaling flavors released by microwaved popcorn.”
“[T]here is nothing to support Dr. Egilman’s conclusion that is at the heart of this case: that the vapors emitted from a microwave popcorn bag contain the same proportion of chemicals [as those emitted in popcorn factories] or that all of the substances in the two instances are identical,” Peterson said....
Read the rest of the story at OnPointNews.com.
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