Three weeks after a Federal Multi-District Litigation jury in Cleveland, Ohio, began its deliberations, certain remaining welding rod manufacturers were all smiles when the jury delivered its decisive defense verdict. Click on "Download PDF" for the judgment and verdict form.

In Byers v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 04-17033 (N.D. Ohio) (Nov. 26, 2008), an Alabama welder with 30 years of experience in the industry, brought suit against various welding rod manufacturers and distributors alleging that his occupational exposure to welding fumes caused him to suffer from certain neurological problems in the form of Parkinson’s disease. The plaintiff alleged that the remaining defendants at trial (Lincoln Electric Co., Hobart Brothers Co. and the ESAB Group, Inc.) made a defective product because they failed to warn welders about the possible dangers of working with welding rods and the resulting manganese fumes. The defendants’ trial strategy focused in large part on showing the jury that multiple warnings about the possible dangers of working around welding rods were previously issued from a variety of sources over the three decades the plaintiff worked as a welder. Some of those sources included product warning labels, product literature and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Click on "Download PDF" for the judgment and verdict form.

This verdict adds to the many other defense verdicts that the welding manufacturers have obtained in the welding rod litigation.

For further information, please contact Craig T. Liljestrand or your regular Hinshaw attorney.

This alert has been prepared by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. It is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship.