THE WELDING FUME LITIGATION FROM A MEDICOLEGAL PERSPECTIVE - by By Robert Eli, JD
2006-04-11

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THE WELDING FUME LITIGATION FROM A MEDICOLEGAL PERSPECTIVE
10 April 2006
By Robert Eli, JD INTRODUCTION This short... (Read Article)

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A group representing professional welders said a Cleveland judge issued a written ruling saying that scientific evidence shows that welding fumes containing manganese can cause serious neurological damage to welders. The Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the national welding fume litigation, which includes an estimated 4,000-6,000 cases, described the ruling as a "major victory" in a legal battle being waged against Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. (LECO), General Electric Co. (GE), Westinghouse, Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and other manufacturers of welding rods and equipment.

"The evidence so far presented is sufficiently reliable to support the assertion that exposure to low-manganese welding fumes can cause, contribute to, or accelerate a movement disorder, including a parkinsonian syndrome that some doctors will diagnose as PD," the order, written by Judge Kathleen O'Malley, said.

O'Malley ruled last year that scientific evidence supports the conclusion that welding fumes cause Parkinson's disease.

O'Malley also ruled that health warnings given by two welding-equipment manufacturers, Hobart Brothers Co. and ESAB, could be found by a jury to be "grossly inadequate and possibly even misleading."

Attorney John Beisner, who has defended corporations in multiple welding-fume cases, including this one, had claimed that there weren't scientifically sound studies that showed mild steel welding causes Parkinson's disease or any other Parkinson's-like movement disorder. Representatives for Lincoln Electric, General Electric, Westinghouse, Caterpillar, ESAB, and Hobart Brothers couldn't be reached. A spokeswoman for Beisner said she was reviewing the order so she could comment. -Jonathan Vuocolo; 201-938-5400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com Order free Annual Report for General Electric Co.

Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=GE or call 1-888-301-0513 (END) Dow Jones Newswires

"Recent developments in welding-rod cases in three state courts suggest that the demise of this litigation is not imminent, despite an Ohio hearing set for this week on whether to sanction plaintiffs' counsel for filing two allegedly questionable federal cases. Plaintiffs' verdicts were recently upheld by intermediate appellate courts in Illinois and New York, and the Maryland high court was the first to hold that an insurer's pollution exclusion does not shield it from a duty to defend and indemnify a welding-rod defendant. About 10,000 such cases are pending in state and federal courts nationwide." Peter Geier, National Law Journal, 2/13/06

AMERICA'S NEWSPAPERS URGE CONGRESS TO FIX OR DEFEAT "FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED" ASBESTOS TRUST FUND BILL THAT ELIMINATES RIGHTS OF ALL AMERICANS -- VICTIMS & DEFENDANTS Excerpts From Editorials Opposing "Fairness In Asbestos Injury Resolution Act" THE WALL... (Read Article)

Life may never be the same for lawyers who litigate silica and asbestos cases. With the passing of the World War II shipyard generation, which made up the bulk of past asbestos cases, and more than 80 asbestos defendants in bankruptcy or out of business, plaintiffs are representing new defendants in specialized industries responsible for different kinds of asbestos illness. Many in the asbestos bar see a return to the asbestos litigation style of the 1980s in the move away from the large inventories of plaintiffs of the past decade to litigation in which each claim is considered individually on its merits. And both plaintiffs and defense lawyers agree that all bets are off if Congress passes its long-considered Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act.

The National Law Journal, 10/31/2005

Medical scientists are concerned that manganese in exhaust fuel could also pose serious health risks. It is well established that manganese is toxic in high doses: like lead, it can impair many organ systems, most notably the brain. ?Manganism?, a type of Parkinson?s syndrome, refers to a cluster of symptoms ? e.g. impaired co-ordination and mental functioning ? observed in some individuals exposed to very high levels. http://www.health24.com/medical/Condition_centres/777-792-1461-1673,33191.asp

Cleveland, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Welding rod manufacturing defendants, Hobart Brothers, a subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW - News), and ESAB Group, a subsidiary of Charter plc (London: CHTR), have agreed to pay a substantial sum of monies as part of a settlement agreement with plaintiff Charles Ruth, a former welder who is suffering from a welding related neurological movement disorder associated with parkinsonism. The agreement enables the defendants to avoid a jury trial regarding, among other things, the potential serious health hazards of the defendants' welding rod products and the defendants' failure to properly and adequately inform the users of these products of their dangers.

WILLIAMS Bailey Law Firm, LLP: Hung Jury Declared in Welding Rods ... mysan.de (Pressemitteilung) - Heidelberg,Germany ... in Angleton, Texas, that a hung jury was declared in the trial of a former welder who contracted Parkinsonism after years of exposure to toxic manganese fumes. ...

FORMER worker gets $1.3M...
NorthJersey.com - Hackensack,NJ,USA ... that he was poisoned from 14 heavy metals, including manganese, arsenic, lead and mercury, and that his lungs had been damaged because of his exposure to high

http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=6a35a7feebd1040f
Santa Fe man who says he developed a Parkinson's-like nerve disorder from exposure to welding rods will have to wait for a final disposition of his case. Ronald Presler was seeking unspecified damages in the case, which was the first of its kind to be tried in Texas.