The second lawsuit in six months against welding-rod manufacturers has began in federal court in Cleveland (USA) with lawyers debating over who is to blame for neurological problems suffered by welders.
In the lawsuit two South Carolina men sued five companies, including Lincoln Electric Holdings, claiming the fumes released by welding rods the businesses manufactured caused the men to get sick.
Nearly 4000 similar cases from across the country have been consolidated in U.S. District Court in Cleveland but so far only one case has been successfully litigated in the US. In 2003 the 5th Appellate Court upheld a one million dollar Madison County verdict in favour of a Collinsville mans claim that manganese in welding rods caused his Parkinsons disease.
Again in June this year, a jury ruled that Lincoln Electric and three other companies were not liable for the illness of a Texas welder.
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