Defense rests in Wisconsin welding rod suit

From the Belville News-Democrat, more on the brewing storm of welding rod lawsuits.

Jurors heard final testimony Tuesday in a trial for a man who claims welding fumes caused him to develop Parkinson's disease at an early age.

Steve Boren, 51, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., who has worked on welding projects at various industrial sites in Madison County, is suing makers of the welding rods. The trial is in its fourth week.

A $1 million judgment awarded two years ago by a Madison County jury to a Collinsville man is believed to be the only verdict issued in the United States in favor of a plaintiff who blamed welding fumes for early onset of Parkinson's.

The final witness for the defendants was Dr. Warren Olanow, a professor of neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Olanow testified he does not believe manganese from welding fumes is a risk factor for Parkinson's.

During a lengthy and sometimes contentious cross-examination, plaintiff attorney Bob McCoy referred to studies that do suggest a link to early onset of Parkinson's. McCoy also questioned Olanow about the roughly $1.25 million paid to him by welding manufacturers for conducting studies and testifying, and about a New York lawyer for the welding industry who travels with Olanow on court-related business.

"Do you have a problem with New York?" Olanow asked McCoy.

Olanow said his opinions are based solely on science, and that his studies on the issue help patients.

"There is no evidence to claim that manganese causes Parkinson's disease," Olanow said.

"And that's for the jury to decide," McCoy said.

"Actually, it's for science to decide," Olanow said.

Many experts say a definite link between welding and early onset of Parkinson's-type diseases has not been made, but the matter deserves more research. However, in a civil lawsuit, a plaintiff has to prove only that a claim is more likely than not, as opposed to a criminal case where the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.