When are scientists legally responsible for research mistakes that cost lives? Not as often as some might like, according to a decision by the High Court in London.
Judges ruled on 20 February that British geologists did not owe a duty of care to Bangladeshi villagers whose arsenic-contaminated well water they mistakenly pronounced safe 12 years ago. The judges threw out a claim for damages from villagers who said that the British Geological Survey (BGS) should have tested for arsenic when looking for 鈥渢he possible presence of toxic substances鈥� in the wells.
The BGS argued in court that it had no reason in 1992 to suspect that there would be naturally occurring arsenic in the underground water. That mistake delayed the discovery for five years. The World Health Organization reckons up to 20,000 Bangladeshis could be dying every year from cancers caused by arsenic.
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