Verdict in for federal welding fume trial

"The defense verdict in this case — the first to be tried in federal court as part of the multidistrict litigation proceeding — confirms, yet again, that these cases are without merit." - John Beisner, lead lawyer for the defendants

The jury in a lawsuit over the dangers of welding fumes found that welding rod makers are not liable for injuries that the plaintiff claimed. The jury in the federal lawsuit deliberated for four days, and rejected Texas welder Ernest G. Solis's injury claims.

Solis alleged that that he was injured by welding fumes and that warning labels on welding rods do not provide sufficient cautions to welders. The jury returned to the federal court room June 27, to report its verdict in the lawsuit.

Defendants in the suit included Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc., Hobart Brothers Co., TDY Industries Inc. and ESAB Group. The suit was heard in the federal courtroom of U.S. District Judge Kathleen O'Malley in Cleveland.

After the jury delivered its verdict, John Beisner, the lead lawyer for the defendants released a prepared statement saying the defendants were pleased by the outcome of the case.

"...This Cleveland jury has joined with the overwhelming majority of juries around the country that have already heard and rejected similar claims. The defense verdict in this case — the first to be tried in federal court as part of the multidistrict litigation proceeding — confirms, yet again, that these cases are without merit."

Drew Ranier, lawyer for the plaintiff's executive committee, also released a statement, saying that he believed the trial established that welding fumes are inherently dangerous.

"First of all, we believe that this trial has firmly established the very real danger of manganese-laced welding fumes. Even the chief executive officer of Lincoln Electric Co., one of the world's leading manufacturers of welding supplies, was forced under crossexamination to admit to this hazard," Ranier said.

"Furthermore, the court ordered the defendants to produce thousands of pages of new documents toward the end of the trial, and scores of future welding cases will benefit from this fresh evidence. We believe that these new documents clearly show the danger posed by welding fumes and, in addition, a long standing corporate cover-up designed to suppress this information," Ranier added.

However, the Solis trial was viewed as a precedent setting case for nearly 3,800 similar suits that have been consolidated under Judge O'Malley's jurisdiction. Despite Ranier's positive statements, the remaining cases — known as multidistrict litigation — now may be in legal jeopardy because the arguments offered by the plaintiff's lawyers did not win over the jury in the Solis trial.

Solis is a civilian maintenance worker at a Navy base in Corpus Christi, Texas. He said he had years of contact with fumes form welding rods that exposed him to toxic manganese and cause an illness — manganism — that has symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. He claimed in court that the warning labels on containers of welding rods were not sufficient to protect him from the illness.

It was made clear during the trial that Solis first heard about welding fumes, and the potential for illness being caused by them, through an newspaper advertisement placed by lawyers who were seeking welders to represent, and that his illness was diagnosed by a doctor who spent about six minutes examining him. The doctor who examined him was hired by the lawyers who placed the newspaper ad.

It also was made clear in court that Solis visited doctors numerous times after that diagnosis, and had several elaborate examinations by his own doctors and by other doctors who were paid by the lawyers. He was not found to have manganism or related illnesses in any of those subsequent exams.