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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 http://www.belleville.com/mld/newsdemocrat/6171470.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn