ILLINOIS: Welder Awaits Jury Decision

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Belleville News-Democrat, IL
Posted on Thu, Jun. 26, 2003

Welder awaits jury decision
BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN

EDWARDSVILLE - A Madison County jury was still deliberating Wednesday night in 
the case of a Collinsville man who
claims he developed Parkinson's disease at an early age because of welding rods.

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.

Plaintiff attorney Bob Bosslet built his case around a study conducted by a 
researcher at Washington University in St.
Louis, who suggested a link between welding and Parkinson's. Bosslet asked the 
jury to award the plaintiff, 64-year-old
Larry Elam, a judgment of $6.4 million.

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. Bosslet said 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.

Bosslet said a handful of similar cases against welding-rod manufacturers have 
gone to juries -- including one in
Madison County -- and in those cases the plaintiff never prevailed.

The defendants claimed Parkinson's is not caused by manganese.

The trial began June 2. The jury began deliberating early Tuesday afternoon and 
was sent home that day about 9 p.m.
Deliberations resumed Wednesday morning and continued until Wednesday night 
past press deadline.

SOURCE: The Belleville News-Democrat, IL


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