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The Belleville News-Democrat, IL Posted on Sun, Jul. 06, 2003 Local lawsuit stirs global investor fears BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN [log in to unmask] EDWARDSVILLE - Shy of 'plaintiff-friendly' areas The reputation of the Madison County courthouse, labeled by critics as a plaintiff's paradise, has reached overseas. A market researcher from London was among those who followed a trial here last week on the issue of whether fumes from welding rods cause Parkinson's disease or Parkinson's-type illness. David Phillips, a researcher in London for Commerzbank Securities, kept track of developments in the case via the Internet and said he's aware of Madison County's notoriety. "Oh, yes," Phillips said. "We think investors are getting much more aware of plaintiff-friendly areas in the U.S. and tend to assume a more plaintiff-friendly outcome." The three defendants in the welding case included BOC Group, a global company that primarily produces industrial gases and employs about 43,000 people. Phillips said BOC Group's stock has underperformed in comparison to other major producers of industrial gases, partly because of investor fears of liability in welding-rod cases. Only a handful of lawsuits have gone to trial in the United States involving welding rods and Parkinson's, and none of the verdicts has been against a welding-rod manufacturer. In the case last week, a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after four days of deliberation, so the judge declared a mistrial. "Since this case has finished, the stock has started to move up, but only gradually," Phillips said. A study conducted in 2001 at Washington University in St. Louis suggested a link between manganese in welding-rod fumes and early onset of Parkinson's. The study of 15 welders who had Parkinson's found they developed the disease an average of 15 years earlier than the general population. However, the neurologist who conducted the study concluded it is too early to say whether welding causes Parkinson's. "Most people in the know seem to think the medical background to Parkinson's and manganese is pretty weak, but few investors are confident to move in ahead of any legal trigger, like a big-case win," Phillips said. The Vaughan-Cascino Law Office in Chicago represented Larry Elam of Collinsville, the plaintiff in the trial last week. Allen Vaughan, an attorney with that firm, said his clients are mostly plaintiffs in welding-rod and asbestos cases. "If I didn't believe these were real cases, I wouldn't have my name attached to it," said Vaughan, who worked as an industrial hygienist at Amoco for more than 20 years before becoming a lawyer. "I wouldn't spend my money where I spend my money if I didn't believe in it." When asked whether he believes welding rods will eventually be proven as a cause of Parkinson's, Vaughan said: "I believe there will be better control on the workplace, there will be warnings, and welders will have to wear respirators. It was awful hard to get enough rats to smoke to determine whether cigarettes cause cancer." David Rae, an attorney for BOC Group, said Vaughan's firm has sued BOC Group seven times. "They've been suing us since 1992. We've won six cases against them, and the seventh was a mistrial," Rae said. Two of the cases have been in Madison County. The first one ended in a defense verdict. "There are very few defendants who have that good a record in Madison County," Rae said. SOURCE: The Belleville News-Democrat, IL http://www.belleville.com/mld/newsdemocrat/6241809.htm * * * Reference: Welder's Law Suit http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ubb/Forum71/HTML/008063.html ILLINOIS: Welder Awaits Jury Decision http://www.belleville.com/mld/newsdemocrat/6171470.htm ILLINOIS: Jury Is Deadlocked In Welder's Lawsuit http://www.belleville.com/mld/newsdemocrat/6189551.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn