9th Cir. Certifies Causation Question to Calif. High Court in Electroshock Device Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appellate court has asked the California Supreme Court to address the question of whether the plaintiff in an electroshock therapy device case can establish causation by showing that a stronger warning provided to doctors would have caused a prudent patient to decline the treatment.

In an April 1 order, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel certified the question of whether under California law, a plaintiff can establish causation by showing that her doctor would have communicated the stronger warning to the patient, and a prudent person in the patient’s position would have declined …