Newsinferno Reports Federal Judge Will Allow Plaintiffs’ to Argue Welding Fumes Cause Parkinson’s Disease

A Cleveland Federal District denied a defense motion that sought to exclude testimony that welding-fume exposure causes Parkinson’s disease, according to Newsinferno.com.

In permitting the plaintiffs to argue their theory that welding fumes cause this extremely serious neurological disorder, Judge McDonald has opened the door for some 5,000 cases premised on the same theory of liability to now move forward in several state courts as well as in some 4,500 cases which have been aggregated before Judge McDonald under a multidistrict litigation order.

According to the Newsinferno report, there are up to 500,000 welders in the United States alone, exposure to welding fumes poses a risk to millions of workers who regularly work in close proximity to welding operations in a number of major industries.

We'll watch how this one goes. It's already affecting stock prices for manufacturers, but the important question is, how much will it affect welders?