Stem cells in court: historical trends in US legal cases related to stem cells.

Using two legal research platforms, we identified 193 stem-cell-related legal cases that were decided in US courts. Classifying the cases by category, we examined historical trends in the types of legal cases related to stem cells. Major types of cases involved plaintiffs seeking to overturn denial of health insurance coverage decisions, disputes related to intellectual property, false advertising, breaches of contract, exposure to hazardous agents, regulatory decisions, stem cell procedures and professional standard of care, use of stems cells in research, and public funding of embryonic stem cell research. Analysis of court decisions provides insight into contemporary and historical legal issues related to stem cells and reveals the breadth of stem-cell-related cases now being decided by US courts.