Ohio Jury Awards Plaintiffs $20.5 Million

December 7, 2007

After a long string of defense verdicts, jurors this week in Judge Kathleen O'Malley's federal district court awarded Plaintiffs Jeffrey and Terry Tamraz $20.5 in damages for injuries arising from exposure to welding fumes.  Jeffrey Tamraz is 51 years old, worked as a welder for 27 years, and suffers from Parkinson's disease, which his experts claimed was caused by exposure to manganese in welding fumes.  The Tamrazes brought claims for strict liability for failure to warn, negligent failure to warn, fraud by concealment, and loss of consortium against BOC Group, Inc., ESAB Group, Inc. Hobart Brothers Co., Lincoln Electric Co., and TDY Industries, Inc.  The presentation of evidence in Cause No. 1:04-CV-18948 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, lasted 9 days.  The jury deliberated 8 1/2 days before finding liability on the strict liability and negligent failure to warn claims and awarding $17.5 million in compensatory damages to Jeff Tamraz and $3 million to his wife, Terry Tamraz, for the loss of consortium claim.  The Plaintiffs were represented by several firms, including Climaco, Lefkowitz, Peca, Wilcox & Garofoli and the Barrett Law Office. The Defendants were represented several firms including O' Melveny & Myers, The Gloor Law Firm,  and Weisman, Kennedy & Burns.
 
Was this an aberration or a sign of things to come?  We will soon see, welding fume exposure trials are slated to begin in early January in Louisiana state court and February in Mississippi federal court.