http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/welding_rod_fumes Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:50:52 -0800 pixel-app en http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/14645 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/14645 manganese welding rods and Parkinson's Disease.  But now evidence has emerged that many - if not most of those studies - which were paid for by the manufacturers, were biased to favor the industry.

Those manganese studies have served the industry well.  According to a piece in "Mother Jones", the industry has won 16 of 17 lawsuits brought by welders suffering from Parkinson's Disease.  Makers of the rods have also settled very few claims.  But now, the persistence of injured welders who continued to file Parkinson's related lawsuits even when the odds were against them might finally be paying off, thanks to a recent ruling by a US District Court Judge.

According to "Mother Jones", last October US District Judge Kathleen O'Malley -whose Ohio courtroom is the fact-finding venue for hundreds of manganese lawsuits - ordered both sides in the litigation to provide a "full and complete" accounting of any  payments they made to scientists or institutions that conducted or published research on the manganese - Parkinson's Disease link.  

It's not unusual for industries to pay for research studies - drug companies do it all the time.  But Judge O'Malley's order provided a rare insight into how such arrangements work.

"Mother Jones" has been able to obtain court documents detailing the payments. They show welding companies paid more than $12.5 million to 25 organizations and 33 researchers.  As many suspected, nearly all of the published papers dismissed  connections between welding fumes and Parkinson's. "Mother Jones" found that most of the money, $11 million, was spent after 2003, when the majority of manganese lawsuits were filed.   On the other hand, attorneys representing injured welders spent a mere half million.

Some of the studies paid for by the industry were obviously designed  in such a way that the outcomes were all but guaranteed to favor welding companies.  A case in point is one conducted by a researcher named Jon Fryzek, whose large studies of Swedish and Danish welders found no significant link between welding fumes and Parkinson's symptoms. Unfortunately, the Fryzek studies only consisted of a review of hospital records, meaning welders who were not hospitalized were left out.  What's worse, lawyers representing welding companies were allowed to review the studies before publication, calling its purported "independence" into question.  

According to "Mother Jones", Fryzek worked for Maryland's International Epidemiology Institute, which received more than $971,000 from welding companies.  That organization is well-known for conducting  industry-commissioned studies.  The "Mother Jones" article said it even once published research that found no link between radiation and cancer in uranium millers.

The "Mother Jones" article highlights numerous studies paid for by the welding industry that are just as suspect.  One expert told the publication that she was shocked at the extent to which the welding companies were able to influence the studies they paid for.  "This has every appearance of the industry buying science," Erin Bigler, a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University who studies brain trauma, aging, and autism, told 'Mother Jones' after reviewing the documents. "I've never seen anything like this. I've suspected it forever, but I've never seen it."

]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/11865 Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/11865
The lawsuit was brought by a former welder who suffers arm tremors and other movement problems that he says could be Parkinson's. Ernest G. Solis, 57, of Corpus Christi, Texas, is seeking unspecified damages from four welding rod makers.

It is the first trial among about 3,800 lawsuits from around the country that have been consolidated in federal court in Cleveland. Solis' case could set the ground rules for the other lawsuits.

At issue is whether manganese a chemical element found in vitamin supplements, tea, nuts and grain, as well as the fumes from burning welding rods can at high exposures lead to tremors or shaking, poor balance and difficulty walking and swallowing.

Companies that make welding equipment argue that any link between fumes and Parkinson's has not been established, and that in any case, warning labels and welding safety equipment minimize any risk.

"It's a really hot topic," said Alan Ducatman, chairman of community medicine at West Virginia University. "A lot of people weld and there is manganese in welding rods. Manganese is very bad stuff at very high doses. The problem is defining when doses are high enough to cause a neurological disease. That's what the research is all about."

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs point to a recent $1 million verdict for a welder in an Illinois case as an examples of what such lawsuits could cost the industry. Similar cases have gone to court individually around the country, with varying results.

Dr. Edward Baker, a University of North Carolina professor and director of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, testified as the leadoff witness in Solis' case that extensive research has linked manganese fumes that emit from welding rods to neurological disorders.

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation says welding fumes are just one of the suspected but unconfirmed causes of the disorder, which afflicts nearly 1 million people in the United States.

"We don't know what brings it on," said Robin Elliott, the foundation's executive director. "If we knew that, we could know the cause, and then we'd be closer to finding a cure."

James Antonini, a toxicology researcher for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is leading research on the effects of welding-type fumes on rats to try to pin down a link.

"There's definitely not a final conclusion on it," he said. "There is a question whether manganese is even available enough in welding fumes to cause an effect."

In the scientific journal Neurology a year ago, Dr. Joseph Jankovic, director of the Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor University's College of Medicine, questioned whether reliable or convincing evidence exists that welding is a risk factor for Parkinson's disease.

Jeff Weber, associate executive director of the Miami-based American Welding Society, said a study the group paid for two years ago did not draw a conclusive link to welding and Parkinson's disease. "My general impression is there is no great fear among most welders," Weber said.

Labels on packages of welding rods, the long, thin sticks that become the substance of a weld — warn that fumes may be hazardous but do not draw any link to Parkinson's. At factories, construction projects and repair shops, some welders use fans to blow away fumes. Others wear breathing devices.

Antonini said all welders would not have the same exposure risk. Some use higher concentrations of manganese than others, depending on the hardness needed in a weld. Some welders work in more confined spaces than others.

Richard Myers started welding when he was 15 and said he feels fine at age 59. He has made his 32-year-old son a partner in his small Cleveland-area business.

"I've worked in shops. I've done a lot of maintenance welding, all kind of different jobs," he said. "I do it on average eight to 10 hours a week. I always try to have a fan in the work area to blow fumes away."
]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/11822 Sun, 04 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/11822
Solis, 57, married and the father of four adult children, still works, but avoids welding. He believes that years of exposure to welding fumes has taken a serious toll on his health. His lawyers say his physical skills have gradually deteriorated.

Solis has become the focus of a federal court trial here that may help set a national legal precedent for thousands of other cases in which workers allege manganese exposure from welding has led to Parkinson's disease.

Solis' case would be the first welding fume case to go to trial among the thousands that were consolidated in U.S. District Court in Cleveland in 2003. Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley asked lawyers to be ready with opening statements Monday, and the trial could last about three weeks.

Defendants in the case are Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc., Hobart Bros. Co., TDY Industries Inc. and the ESAB Group.

"We don't believe that welding is responsible for Mr. Solis' alleged ailments," said Brandy Bergman, a spokeswoman in New York for lawyers representing welding industry defendants. "We are confident that this Cleveland jury will join the overwhelming majority of other juries around the country that have already heard and rejected similar claims."

Other welding fume cases were tried in state courts and in federal courts before the 2003 consolidation. There are about 40 percent fewer such cases pending than there were a year ago, Bergman said.

Solis' lawsuit began four years ago in Texas and contends that from 1973 to 2001 he was exposed to toxic manganese fumes from welding. The lawsuit alleges that manganese in more than trace amounts can damage the human nervous system and limit a person's ability to think, talk and move.

To coordinate the pretrial process of thousands of similar cases, they were consolidated in O'Malley's court in Cleveland, a process known as an MDL, or multidistrict litigation. There are at least 3,800 consolidated cases pending. Some of those may end up in other courts, after the first few are tried to give attorneys guidance on which arguments will succeed and which won't.

Drew Ranier, one of a team of lawyers representing Solis, said Friday before jury selection began that welding fumes are an ongoing public health concern among workers in construction and manufacturing.

"The overall picture is that there are thousands of welders being exposed to welding fumes, and there will be more cases until this is stopped," Ranier said.

The Solis lawsuit asks a jury to determine an appropriate award of damages, but does not specify an amount.

In September, another case nearly became the first to go to trial before O'Malley, but was settled for at least $1 million shortly before jury selection.

Charles Ruth, of Lucedale, Miss., had been a welder at Ingalls Shipyard, in Pascagoula, Miss., and began having various physical problems. His lawyers said he suffered shakes, balance and speech problems.

Because of the settlement, a jury did not decide whether welding fumes could be linked to Ruth's problems.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/10314 Wed, 27 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/10314
In permitting the plaintiffs to argue their theory that welding fumes cause this extremely serious neurological disorder, Judge McDonald has opened the door for some 5,000 cases premised on the same theory of liability to now move forward in several state courts as well as in some 4,500 cases which have been aggregated before Judge McDonald under a multidistrict litigation order.

While the ruling does not determine the underlying issue of whether welding fumes do, in fact, cause Parkinson’s disease, it will permit the issue to be submitted to a jury for resolution based on expert medical and scientific proof.  Clearly, that is all the plaintiffs really wanted to accomplish in defeating the defense motion. Now, it is anyone’s guess how a jury will decide once it hears all of the evidence on this particular theory.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys as well as a significant number of highly qualified medical experts believe that the welding process which releases significant amounts of manganese fumes, a metal known to cause neurological problems, does indeed cause Parkinson’s disease.

While there are up to 500,000 welders in the United States alone, exposure to welding fumes poses a risk to millions of workers who regularly work in close proximity to welding operations in a number of major industries including ship and bridge building; heavy construction work on other steel structures like high-rise buildings, automotive fabrication and repair, plastics, and electronics.

The lawsuits are directed at a number of current and former manufacturers of welding materials, companies that distributed welding equipment, and major users of welding services.

Although welding materials come with printed warning and welding operations are required to be done in ventilated areas and only with the use of appropriate breathing equipment, the lawsuits claim that the various defendants were well aware of the significant dangers posed by the practice and did not do enough to warn those exposed to those risks.

So far, plaintiffs have won 9 of 10 cases in which evidence of the connection between welding and Parkinson’s was permitted. The motion to prevent this theory from continuing to be advanced was defendants’ last and only hope of turning the tide in the litigation. Since, under federal rules, the order denying that motion cannot be appealed until the end of the case, the trials will have to proceed with that theory intact.
]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/9322 Mon, 14 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/9322
Vioxx and Celebrex increased patients' risk of heart attack and stroke by about 20 percent while Bextra increased the risk by 50 percent, according to a study by WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest provider of health benefits which is based in Indianapolis.

Dr. Sam Nussbaum, WellPoint's executive vice president and chief medical officer, said Monday the study is further evidence of an "increasingly compelling trend" of data that show the drugs elevate patients' risk of heart attack and stroke.

Later this week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is holding hearings on the safety of the class of drugs known as Cox-2 inhibitors. Merck & Co. removed Vioxx from the market last year after a study showed it doubled patients' risk of heart attack and strokes.

Pfizer Inc. makes Bextra and Celebrex, which remain on the market.

WellPoint studied the records of 7,232 patients older than the age of 40 taking one of the three drugs and compared them with records of 629,245 people older than the age of 40 who were not taking any of the drugs. WellPoint shared the data with researchers at the University of Indiana's medical school, who adjusted the information for heart attack and stroke risk factors, such as age.

WellPoint began the study after Vioxx was removed from the market. It examined patient records from January 2001 through June 30, 2004. All the patients were on the drugs for at least 18 months. Merck officials have insisted the problems with Vioxx didn't become apparent until patients were taking the drug for at least that long.

Drug companies have criticized studies that retrospectively examine patient records, saying the gold standard of drug trials is a blind, placebo-controlled study.

But Nussbaum defended the practice.

"This is how drugs are used in the real world," said Nussbaum. "It is an important and sound analysis."

Nussbaum said WellPoint had shared the data with the FDA as well as Merck and Pfizer.

A Pfizer spokeswoman said she wasn't aware of the study. She said the company was focusing on the FDA meeting, which it believed would clarify the medicines' safety. Pfizer has previously said that a review of its internal studies didn't not show that either Celebrex or Bextra increased patients' risk for cardiovascular problems.

A Merck spokeswoman couldn't find anyone aware of the study. The FDA didn't return calls.

Nussbaum said WellPoint's study had not caused it to alter its policy of requiring doctors to receive prior authorization before prescribing Bextra or Celebrex. He said that was because the FDA had approved the drugs.

WellPoint's policy could change depending on the outcome of the FDA hearing. Recently, health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente told its doctors to stop prescribing Bextra.

Dr. Eric Matteson, a professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said the study was significant because of the amount of patients it included and because it backs up other studies.

"All the signals are pointing in the same direction," Matteson said.

There have been two studies linking Bextra to increased risk of heart attack and strokes while two separate trials indicated Celebrex elevates the likelihood of cardiovascular problems.

Matteson doesn't expect the FDA to remove Bextra and Celebrex from the market. Cox-2 inhibitors were developed to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal problems associated with older pain relievers such as naproxen. However, unlike Vioxx, neither Celebrex nor Bextra can say on their labels that they reduce gastrointestinal problems.

Matteson said there is anecdotal evidence of their benefit.

He said he would not be surprised if the FDA demands that Pfizer put a "black box" warning on Celebrex's label to highlight the cardiovascular risk. That is the agency's most severe warning.

Bextra already has a black box warning.

"Clearly there is a degree of risk in these drugs and doctors need to be more careful about prescribing them," said Matteson.

Pfizer shares rose 19 cents to $25.34 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange while Merck shares gained 20 cents to $29.41.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/7165 Sat, 29 Nov 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/7165
Elam said he suffered from Parkinson's disease that stemmed from years of using welding rods made and sold by major companies across the country, including Lincoln Electric Co. in Cleveland.

The companies denied the claims and said there is no link between welding and Parkinson's.

A jury awarded Elam $1 million in an Illinois court last month, marking the first time a plaintiff won a case in 10 such trials.

While Elam's lawsuit was filed in state court in Illinois, Cleveland has become the focal point of hundreds of welding cases.

A federal panel has ordered more than 100 federal lawsuits from across the country consolidated in Cleveland before U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley to simplify legal issues, and attorneys expect more to be added.

On Tuesday, proceedings began to determine whether some of the cases should be sent back to state courts or remain before O'Malley.

The welders say workers suffered neurological damage from welding-rod fumes that contain manganese, which stabilizes and hardens the weld. In documents, the attorneys say the fumes can lead to brain damage.

"The industry has known since at least 1932 that welding could lead to manganese overexposure, and that welders needed effective protection from fumes," the attorneys said in legal briefs. "But, to this day, the industry has shunned its obligation to fully and adequately warn of welding fumes' dangers and to provide the necessary protection."

Attorney are demanding additional safeguards for welders, such as ventilation and warnings. If successful, the attorneys could seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

There are more than 500,000 welders nationwide; about 1 percent are involved in the federal lawsuits before O'Malley.

Lincoln Electric on St. Clair Avenue is the global leader in design and development of arc- welding rods. In its third-quarter report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it has been involved in welding-rod suits since 1995, with a majority of them dismissed.

"The company believes resolu tion of these claims and proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse impact upon [its] consolidated financial statements," the report said.

But in a recent report to prospective clients, McDonald Investments Inc. analyst Walter Liptak wrote: "We believe that the manganese [litigation] has been an overhang in Lincoln Electric Co. for several years. With the [Illinois] unfavorable decision, we expect the number of claims to rise, increasing the risk for a larger contingent liability."

An attorney who defends Lincoln and 22 other makers and sellers of the rods, denied the allegations. He said only a person who is dramatically overexposed to manganese will suffer some neurological disorders, but those circumstances are rare and the symptoms are specific.

For example, he cited those who have worked in manganese mining operations. Welders doing a normal amount of work, he said, fall far short of those levels.

In Elam's case, a jury in Edwardsville, Ill., about 20 miles from St. Louis, ruled that welding-rod manufacturers are responsible for failing to warn him about potential health problems.

Elam, 65, of Collinsville, Ill., developed symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease after working for years at Union Electric in Missouri, where he welded and worked near welders, said his attorney.



During the trial, Elam's attorney presented a study published in 2001 in the journal Neurology that suggests welding "acts as an accelerant to cause Parkinson's disease."

But others say such a cause- and-effect study does not exist.

"As far as I know, there's no link between welding and Parkinson's," said Andrew Cullinson, editor of the American Welding Society's Welding Journal. "But there are a lot of studies going on."

Lincoln Electric plans to appeal the Illinois verdict and believes it will prevail on the merits, according to its report to the SEC. ]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/6928 Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/6928
Larry Elam first noticed the tremors in the late 1980s or early 1990s, while he was out for dinner with his wife.

His hand shook when he tried to take a bite.

About that time, the Collinsville resident also started feeling stiffness in his body. And his wife noticed an occasional twitch in his face.

In 1995 at age 57, Elam got the diagnosis: Parkinson's disease.

On Tuesday, a Madison County jury awarded him $1 million in what may be a foreboding verdict for makers of welding rods. Elam claimed fumes from welding caused his disease or caused him to get it at an early age.

"I'd like to think I wouldn't have gotten it at all, but we'll never know," Elam said Wednesday.

Elam was born in a farmhouse in Vandalia and grew up in that area, then joined the U.S. Air Force. After about five years of service, he moved to Collinsville, where he had relatives, and eventually ended up working at Union Electric in Missouri.

He had various jobs during his nearly 30 years at Union Electric. Sometimes he welded, and often he worked around welding.

When he began noticing the symptoms, he wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew he didn't like it.

"I told my wife if it didn't stop, I wasn't going to go out anymore," Elam said. "When your cup's shaking or your utensils are shaking, that's distracting to people. I don't like to put on a display."

Today, the 65-year-old Elam rarely goes anywhere. He'll go to the store with his wife, because there he can walk with a shopping cart instead of the cane he uses at home. His legs often feel weak.

What bothers him most is that one of his two daughters, who is deaf, has trouble reading his lips because of the twitching, and he can't play with his five grandchildren as much as he'd like.

"The grandchildren like a lot of attention," he said. "I think I've become a bit of a recluse since I've got this."

Elam's verdict, against welding-rod makers BOC Group, Hobart Brothers and Lincoln Electric, was heard around the world. Until the Elam verdict, no verdict had ever been issued in favor of a plaintiff who claimed to suffer Parkinson's because of welding fumes.

Seven similar trials have been held previously in the United States, including one in June, when another Madison County jury deliberated on Elam's case for four days without reaching a unanimous verdict. The other six trials ended with defense verdicts.

On Wednesday, the British-based BOC Group's stock fell 7.64 percent on the London Stock Exchange and about 6.7 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

Alex Scott, a stock analyst in London for Seven Investment Management, told the Reuters news agency investors are going to be jittery about "any risk of exposure to the bottomless pit of the U.S. litigation environment."

Ed Murnane, director of the Illinois Civil Justice League, said comments like that are "really pinpointing Madison County," which has a reputation of being plaintiff-friendly.

Murnane, whose group is backed by businesses and industry, added: "It seems there is no scientific evidence to support the conclusion the jury reluctantly reached. If that is the signal that our judicial system is sending to Illinois and U.S. businesses as well as international business concerns, the situation is even worse than we think it is."

One juror has said five jurors initially favored a defense verdict, but there was some compromise. Elam's attorney, asked for a $2.3 million judgment.

Elam said he wishes no harm to the manufacturers, but he hopes the verdict results in improved safety, such as having to wear a respirator while welding.

"I'm not out for revenge," he said, adding that he hopes the verdict is a victory for "many other welders who may have the same problem."

BOC Group said it will appeal. In a statement, the company said the verdict is "inconsistent with the verdict reached by every other jury that has considered similar claims" and is "contrary to the scientific, medical and toxicological evidence."

A doctor involved in a study of welders in three Gulf Coast states testified that of 20,000 welders screened so far, about 2,500 have Parkinson's or a Parkinson's-type disease. Parkinson's disease affects about 1 percent to 1.5 percent of the U.S. population over age 50, according to most experts.

Bosslet said researchers are still studying welding and Parkinson's.

"I think the more this is looked into, the stronger these cases are going to become," he said.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/6215 Thu, 26 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/6215
The case is one of the first in the country to go to trial on the issue of whether welding rods contribute to the early onset of Parkinson's.

A few similar cases have been tried across the nation, but they were all decided in favor of the welding-rod makers.

The defendants are Lincoln Electric, Hobart Brothers and BOC Group, all makers of welding rods.

Elam worked for Union Electric in Missouri for 29 years. Elam sometimes did welding on the job and often worked around welders. The three defendants provided welding rods for Union Electric.

In the mid-1990s, at age 57, Elam began having tremors and walking with a shuffle. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a progressive movement disorder that affects more than 1 million Americans.

Later, Elam read news reports about a study conducted by neurologist Brad A. Racette at Washington University. Racette conducted research on a group of welders suffering from Parkinson's and reported in 2001 that welding might trigger an early onset of the disease.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/welding_rod_fumes Thu, 26 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/welding_rod_fumes Welding Rod Fumes Linked to Manganese Poisoning
Manganese is a common metal used in welding in order to create steel.  Welding joins pieces of metal by the use of heat and/or pressure. Welding is one of the most dangerous industrial activities. In addition to Manganese poisoning from toxic fumes, the dangers of welding include metal fume fever, fire, electric shock, compressed gases, and injury to the eyes, hands, feet,  lungs, heart, kidney, and central nervous system.

Manganism / Parkinson's
Manganism results from damage to the basal ganglia area of the brain, which controls many movement and motor control signals.  Manganese poisoning  symptoms may include:  tremors, muscle stiffness, rigidity, instability and lack of balance, slowness of movement, joint pain, cramps, memory loss, partial paralysis, drooling, difficulty swallowing and constipation.  There is no cure for manganism.  In order to treat it successfully, it must be caught early when cessation of manganese exposure is still possible.  Manganese-induce Parkinsonism does not typically respond to Parkinson's disease medications such as Levodopa.

Welding Safety Precautions
Welding requires an enormous degree of precautionary measures because the risks of injury are extremely high. Fumes are a natural by-product of welding, and are expected from even simple welding operations. Even simple welding work should require the use of respiratory protection or ventilation. Simple operations lead to fumes like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and ozone. Extra precautions must be taken when welding metal coated with or containing zinc, cadmium, chromium, copper, fluoride, lead, manganese, or vanadium, because the resulting fumes can cause a condition known as metal-fume fever. Another serious concern is working with metal that has been coated or painted.

Many of the paints that have coated metal are lead based; lead is a known carcinogen. Employers are required to provide well-ventilated workspaces so that manganese fumes do not reach toxic levels.  They are also required to provide personal protective equipment such as respiratory masks and protective suits and gloves.  Welding rod manufacturers should adequately warn welders about the hazards associated with their products.  Failure to meet OSHA occupational safety standards and failure to warn about dangerous welding rod products may mean that your employer or the welding rod manufacturer could be found negligent.

Legal Help for Victims of Welding Rod Fumes
If you or a loved one developed manganism or other injuries from welding rod fumes, you have legal rights.  Please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified welding rod attorney.  Alternatively, call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) to speak to someone at our firm.]]>