9th Welding Rod MDL Bellwether Trial Ends In Defense Verdict For 3 Manufacturers

CLEVELAND - (Mealey's) An Ohio federal jury on Oct. 21 found that the ninth bellwether trial plaintiff in the welding rod multidistrict litigation failed to prove that his Parkinsonism was caused by manganese from welding fumes (In re:  Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 1535, No. 03-17000, James Clinger v. Lincoln Electric Company, No. 04-17118, N.D. Ohio).

The 12 jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio answered "no" to the first question of whether plaintiff James Clinger proved by a preponderance of evidence that he suffers from Parkinsonism secondary to manganese exposure, manganese-induced Parkinsonism, manganese poisoning or manganism that was caused exposure to welding fumes from products made by Hobart Brothers Co., Lincoln Electric Co. and Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Inc.

The trial started Sept. 29.  Judge Donald C. Nugent presided.

[Editor's Note:  Full coverage will be in the Nov. 9 issue of Mealey's Litigation Report: Welding Rods.  In the meantime, the verdict sheet is available at www.mealeysonline.com or by calling the Customer Support Department at 1-800-833-9844.  Document #70-101109-005V.  For all of your legal news needs, please visit www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys.]

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Mealeysonline.com - Document #70-101109-005V

For more information, call editor Bill Lowe at 610-205-1109, or e-mail him at bill.lowe@lexisnexis.com.