Second Major Blow To Welding Industry In Nine Days

NEW YORK, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In the second major verdict against the U.S. welding industry in little more than a week, a New York State appeals court on Dec. 29th affirmed the first-ever jury finding that asbestos-containing welding rods, sold in the billions up to the early 1980's, had caused lung cancer and mesothelioma, Attorney Jerome H. Block of the nationally known mass toxic tort law firm of Levy Phillips and Konigsberg, LLP announced.
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, in a published decision, upheld the July 2003 jury verdict in favor of, Angel Gomez, who died following the trial, and the late Daniel Tucker. Both men worked with and around asbestos-containing welding rods. The jury awarded Gomez a total of approximately $3.19 million against Lincoln Electric Company ("Lincoln"), reduced 25 percent since Gomez was a cigarette smoker. Tucker's estate was awarded a total of approximately $3.5 million split between Lincoln and Hobart Brothers Company ("Hobart").

Lincoln, publicly traded, and Hobart, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Illinois Tool Works, Inc., "had argued that their asbestos product was different and incapable of causing lung cancer and mesothelioma. The jury rejected these arguments, and now their verdict has been unanimously upheld by the appellate court," Block said.

On Dec. 20th an Illinois appellate court upheld a 2001, $1 million negligence and product liability award against Lincoln, Hobart, and Airco/The BOC Group, Inc. After a four-week trial a jury found that manganese fumes from the defendants' welding rods caused central nervous system injury resulting in the plaintiff's Parkinson's disease.

The welding rods at issue in the Gomez and Tucker cases, known by their American Welding Society Classification "6010," were and continue to be a top-selling, all-purpose welding rod. Up to the early 1980s, these rods were coated with a mixture containing 5% to 15% asbestos, according to trial testimony. "We proved that asbestos from the coating of these rods would be released in the air and breathed in by workers like Mr. Gomez and Mr. Tucker who had no idea that asbestos could kill them," Block explained. For at least a half century, from the 1930's through the early 1980's, Lincoln manufactured billions of asbestos-containing welding rods, which were commonly used in industry, Block noted. In addition to welders, others who worked around them were endangered by these rods, Block added.

Case Filed As: Christine Wiegman, Individually and as the Administratrix of the Estate of Daniel Tucker, Plaintiff-Respondent, v A C & S, Inc., et al., Defendants, The Lincoln Electric Company, et al., Defendants-Appellants.; Angel Gomez, Plaintiff-Respondent, v A C & S, Inc., et al., Defendants, The Lincoln Electric Company, Defendant-Appellant.