JURY VERDICT UPHELD FOR WELDER AFFLICTED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE DUE TO WELDING FUMES
Posted: Tuesday, June 13th 2006
An Illinois Appellate court refused to allow corporate defendants to profit by turning a blind eye towards worker safety.
In what can only be described as a landmark case, a jury awarded former welder, Lawrence Elam, $1M (one million dollars) in damages finding that he developed Parkinson's disease because of exposure to welding fumes.
The defendants, all welding rod manufacturers, and their large and expensive legal teams tried to escape liability on several fronts.
Mr. Elam deserves our respect, as he is the first in Illinois to not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk.
First, the defendant's argued that Mr. Elam couldn't recover because he admitted that he didn't read a warning label on the welding rod carton. However, the appellate court ruled, "The evidence indicates defendant's packaged the relevant warnings in a way that virtualy guaranteed plaintiff and others in the welding trade would not read them."
Second, the defendants argued that there wasn't sufficient scientific research demonstrating a causal link between exposure to welding fumes and the development of Parkinson's disease. The Appellate court reviewed the evidence and determined that the defendants had been aware for many years of a possible causal link between mandanese in welding fumes and the development of Parkinson's disease, and they failed to investigate the health hazards.
The court noted a 1979 study published by the American Welding Society which determined that future studies should investigate the prevalence of similar medical problems in welders.
The Illinois Supreme Court refused to grant a Petition for Leave to Appeal, so the case is officially over and Mr. Elam did obtain justice.
He did so after being forced to take his case to trial, litigate an appeal and respond to a Peition for Leave to Appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
The path to justice can be a long, hard one. The difficulties faced by Mr. Elam were compunded by a disabling condition that a corporate manufacture knew, or should have known, was reasonably likely to occur given his exposure to certain toxins. Mr. Elam deserves our respect, as he is the first in Illinois to not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk. His courage to fight this battle may reduce the added pain and suffering of others in the future. Congratulations sir.