Personalized Medicine and Toxic Exposure

Abstract

This article considers how personalized medicine might affect the legal system’s ability to address the consequences of human exposure to toxic substances. The article first describes some of the current scientific, clinical and public health uses of information in pursuit of the goals of personalized medicine. The article then considers the potential impact of proliferating personal molecular information on toxic tort litigation, including the role of courts in addressing sub-cellular damage caused by toxic exposures. The article’s goal is not to resolve all of the issues that might come to the fore, but instead to identify some challenges ahead and contribute to an ongoing and evolving conversation.