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Causal Value and Causal Link

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Malpractice and Medical Liability

Abstract

After an overview of the evolution of concepts of truth, cause and causation in the history of philosophy, this chapter examines the current post-modern conception of material causality in the medico-legal doctrine, aimed at the identification of the core cause and the reconstruction of the causal nexus. The theory of the “conditio sine qua non” and the subsumption under scientific laws, which constitute the common denominator for the imputation of the event, are described in detail. The judicial inquiry and the expert’s report, applicable in medico-legal practice of specific causality, are illustrated with particular reference to deductive-nomological and inductive-statistical models, as well as to the necessity of a new “evidentiary regime” for ascertaining professional medical liability.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Via Falloppio 50, 35121, Padua, Italy

    S. Davide Ferrara

Authors
  1. S. Davide Ferrara
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Correspondence to S. Davide Ferrara .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Legal Medicine, Dept. of Envionmental Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Falloppio 50, Padova, 35121, Italy

    Santo Davide Ferrara

  2. , Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Via Falloppio 50, Padova, 35121, Italy

    Rafael Boscolo-Berto

  3. , Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Via Falloppio 50, Padova, 35121, Italy

    Guido Viel

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Ferrara, S.D. (2013). Causal Value and Causal Link. In: Ferrara, S., Boscolo-Berto, R., Viel, G. (eds) Malpractice and Medical Liability. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35831-9_5

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