Document 91q7MRYjYnX61emmMQDkNGLLV

I~OOOc)3l i<rj-7 V, W. MCLEOD 0M-77J *OB*T W ocwjamjm pALpEoXwANeDt ER (RETIRED) ERVIN A APPreu JR JAMC3 L ANTHONY rPCOPlCK J. BRADrORD JAMCS L.WARC WILLIAM CFEBEBEE 00U0LA3 W. POOLE W. DANIEL. VAUOHN MICHAEL B. HUGHES JAMES B-OALBRAITH ROSS S.CROSSLAND RAUL W. TIPTON LAW OFFICES McLEOD. ALEXANDER. FOWEL & APFFEL, INC. ooa acALr smith rmoresstonAi. builoino too UHlVtmSlTY BOULEVARD OALVEfiTON. TEXAS 77553 D j%-*43tS3 ARCA COOC 713 January 25, 1980 Re: Cause #79-17924; Steve McHenry, et ux vs. JohnsManville Sales Corporation; In the District Court of Harris County, Texas; 80th Judicial District Mr. James K. Green Johns-Manville Corporation Ken-Caryl Ranch Denver, Colorado 80217 Dear Jim: i....... - - 1 ---y-'tnrr This is the Quarterly Summary on the Steven McHenry case. I have attached to the Summary the Plaintiff's Eighth Amended Petition which is identical in all respects to the first seven petitions with the exception of additional defendants. At the present time, the defendants are JohnsManville Sales Corporation, Johns-Manville International Corporation, Southern Johns-Manville Product Corporation, Forty-Eight Insulations, Inc., Mins Safety Appliance Company, Clemtex Limited, Owens Corning Fiberglass Corporation, Eagle Picher Industries, Inc., Garlock Inc., Johns-Manville Product Corporation, Flexitallic Gasket Company, Inc., Nicolet Industries, Inc., Specialty Sand Company, The Celotex Corpora tion, Phillip-Carey, Inc. This case is somewhat unusual in that Mr. McHenry is claiming to be suffering from both asbestosis and silicosis. In answer to interrogatories submitted to the Plaintiff, Mr. McHenry provided us with the following information; he was born on January 1, 1925 and has worked at Crown Ont-ral Petroleum from. July Y.'. 1951 until January o.f--L9^B. Mr. McHenry worked a 5 day week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at an hourly rate of $8.55 per hour. Mr. McHenry denies working since leaving Crown Central Petroleum Refinery. Mr. McHenry served in the United States Navy frpp 7 94,1. to 1946. After beginning work at Crown Central Petroleum Company as a laborer, he helped insulation workers perform CRMC-M& S -002547 Mr. James K. Green -2- January 25, 1980 their duties, cleaned up old--i-nsnl ation. after,they had finished vorking_, and helped prepare insulation materials. During this time'7'~he.also cleaned steel drums usuia a hammer to knock out caked coke orT"tKe ~~drums'~and'~'t'hfslj^as_..guit/a^ dusty.. also^_ Mr. -f^CHenry worked around~ ins~uri,tion products for 17 years until he^ Was*~prnmutstT'CCtThe ;)aB"o""a mecRanxcal helper. A^te'r*approx imately 2 years in this position, his job changed to that of spray paint sandblasting. He continued this job for about 5 years at wHIch time he became a heavy equipment operator, another job which was quite dusty. Medically, Mr. McHenry has seen Dr. Richard Burman, Dr. Louis Levin, Dr. Daniel .Tanking and Dr. Dan Linkous, all located in Houston, Texas. Mr. McHenry has been in the hospital from January 23, 1978 until January 28. 1978 at Citizens General 'Houston.' The-admitting physician was Dr. Linkous and Mr. McHenry was admitted because of difficulty in breathing. Both Dr. Linkous and Dr. Jenkins report Mr. McHenry suffering from severe-obstructive.chronic bronchitis, with evidence of bilateraJL-Pleural thickening;, consistent with asbestos , exposure.^ There is also evidence oi some-massive"*pulmonary fibrosis and conglomerate silicosis evident in the mi'd-porhTdh~of~botli,,,lung fields-. Dr. Jenkins states there is no question but that Mr. McHenry is totally disabled since his functional impairment is quite severe and exercise tolerance is exceedingly limited. I have enclosed all of the medical records supplied us by Mr. McHenry's attorney. In answer to our interrogatories. Crown Central Petroleum Company's records reveal Mr. McHenry worked for the company continuously July 5, 1951 until January 20, 1978. Company records indicate the Plaintiff probably d-yd some .aandblaating' work while employed with Crown Petroleum, but this was not his usual job. No specific records were maintained when sand blasting work is performed, but an estimate was made that the Plaintiff may have been involved in sandblasting operations while assigned to the paint department from June, 1972 until February 20, 1977. Protective devices- in the., form of..hoods-are usually provided to employees engaged, in .sandblasting operations. The Plaintiff was subjected to a pre-employment physical exam by Dr. W. Carrington in Pasadena, Texas. The Plaintiff passed the physical exam and was deemed fit for strenuous labor. Plaintiff was apparently subjected to no routine subsequent medical examination. He participated in a company-wide study to determine the effects of exposure to benzene on May 26, 1977. The results of that test were normal. Plaintiff also received a chest x-ray on August 3, 1977 when he was hospitalized for an industrial accident. It is possible Plaintiff may have partici pated in a voluntary chest x-ray program run by the Lung Association during 1971 or 1972. Company medical records reveal that Plaintiff suffered from pneumonia on 2 cccacicns in the late 1950's and was referred to a physician in 1962 for a severe upper gastric pain. It appears Plaintiff was treated for CRMC-M&S-002548 Mr. James K. Green -3- January 25, 1980 pneumonia at a VA hospital and x-rays may be available from that source. As to the silicosis portion of his claim, Crown Central's records indicate their sand supplier was Clemtex. Protective devices usually utilized during sandblasting operations were green Clemtex air fed sandblasting materials. The Plaintiff's earnings have ranged from $1,431.16 in 1951 to a high of $20,877.92 in 1977, and are detailed in the attached summary. On December 20, 1979, the deposition of J. D. Truxal, former purchasing agent for Crown Petroleum Company was taken. Basically, Mr. Truxal's deposition indicated that Crown Central Petroleum Company purchased many items which contained asbestos. Mr. Truxal could recall buying insulation material, gaskets, insulating cement, building siding, as well as tape and wicking, all of which contained asbestos. Mr. Truxal's testimony was that at one time or another, he guessed he had purchased asbestos products from just about everyone who manufactured them. The only.names he could recall were those of Johns-Manville Owens Corning, Phillip Carey, and Weber 241. Mr. Truxal recalled buying most of his products from Johns-Manville, and stated that many times the Johns-Manville product was specifically requested. In addition to the Plaintiff's Eighth Amended Petition, medical records, and financial information previously mentioned, I have enclosed a detailed summary of the Answers to Interroga tories supplied by the Plaintiff and Crown Central Petroleum Corporation. Very truly yours. .V EAA, Jr./gv Enclosures cc,w/enc. Mr. Lyman Field 600 East 11th Street Kansas City, Missouri 64106 Mr. Dave MeKnight Claims Examiner The Travelers Insurance Company P. 0. Box 374 Farmington, Connecticut 06032 CRMC-M&S-002549