Milward v. Acuity Specialty Products Group, Inc.
Plaintiff sued Berryman Products and others, alleging that he developed acute promyelcytic leukemia as a result of exposure to benzene present in the defendants’ products. The defendants asserted that there was no reliable scientific evidence to support plaintiff’s experts’ claims that benzene could cause this type of leukemia. The United States District Court for Massachusetts held a four day evidentiary hearing on a Daubert challenge by the defendants including testimony from the plaintiff’s toxicologist and the defendants’ epidemiologist, clinical pathologist, and toxicologist. At the conclusion of the hearing and after a review of numerous scientific studies, the court held that the plaintiff’s expert’s opinion that benzene can cause acute promyelcytic leukemia was not supported by reliable science and entered judgment on behalf of the defendants.
