Document Ozx25aY9y1j9392vZbK460xvQ

FILE NAME: WR Grace (WRG) DATE: March 16, 1967 DOC#: WRG048 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: 1967 Letter to American Adjustment Company regarding workmen's compensation claim March 16, 1967 Aaerioan Adjustment Company P. 0. Box 2625 Great Falla, Montana 59*01 ATTENTIONt Robert Conley Rei Tour Filet 1 C 3*-0l6l60 Inearedi V. h . Oraoe A Co. Clalaantt Lilaa 0. Welch Dear Mr. Conleyi This will serve to confirm our various telephone conversations concerning this matter, and provide you with information now available.. As far as we can aaoertain, the first indication of a .possible claim by Mr. Weloh was contained In a letter from Attorney Richard Dzlvl, of Great Falls, Montana, to the Montana State Industrial Aocldent Board dated July 1, 19 6 5 , in whloh Mr. Dslvl stated that his ollent suffered from asbestosis result ing from his employment with Insured, and requested oertaln information and forms. On July 12, 1965, forms requested were forwarded to the attorney, and the matter than rested until January 1*, 1967, when Mr. Dslvl forwarded the Board an Oeoupatlonal Disease Claim for Benefits fora, subsoribed by olalmant Welch, and dated December 16, 19 6 6 , together with a narrative report submitted by Dr. C. G. MoCarthy, of Missoula, Montana. Our own investigation reveals that Mr. Weloh has been employed by insured in the Libby, Montana area slnoe February 8 , 19*9. He worked In the mill until April 1*, 19*9 or for a period of approximately two months, and then alternated between driving truck and working on construction for approximately seven y^srs. His truok driving experlenoe Included both work in the mine, as well as hauling the refined product from the lower ore bln to the storage bins near the railroad. Slnoe October 15, 1956 Mr. Weloh has been employed In the warehouse. -2 are inforaed by Mr. Bari Loriok, Manager of the insured's operation in the Libby, Montana area, that to his knowledge Mr. Veloh was raleed in the are*, and ha had no eaployaent experience which night hare subjected hin to the type of exposure with whioh we are dealing, other than hla work with our insured. Mr. Veloh ia presently 6k years of age, haring been kora on February 5, 1905, and is apparently presently totally dis abled with respeot to any eaployaent whiek weald oaase any sort of physioal exertion. Ve are inforaed that he slaply would be unable to walk aorose a olty street without stopping to rest at sons point. Clalaant had been eaployed la the warehouse as a parts aaa for the past sereral years, and for the last year or two has been unable to oliab stairs or engage in any aotlrlty whioh inrolved more than alnlaal exertion. Ve are adrised by Mr. Loviok that they allowed Mr. Veloh to oontinue with his eaployaent until he siaply oould not oontinue, and as the work he was doing was the easiest job arailable, there siaply was nothing for hla to do other than resign. Acoording to Insured's reoords, olaiaant's last date of eaployaent was 11/8/66. He is entitled to Soolal Security benefits and sons snail pension froa the Coapany, and we are Inforaed that his present credits would allow hla the sua of $531*09 per year if he had been able to wait until he was 65 years of age prior to retiring, but that his benefits, beoause of his preaature retlreaent, would be aotuarily scaled down. Ve are further Inforaed that various olaias hare been for warded to the Travelers Insuranoe Coapany, whioh oarrler provides health and aooldent ooverage to Insured's eaployees, with respeot to aedioal expenses for several years, and that he is in fact now drawing soae sort of weekly benefit as a rssult of hie disability. In this respeot, the various aedioal expense olaias, as well as the present disability olala, have been presented to Travelers as not Job related, aad they have for several years paid suoh expenses, and are, or m w* are advised, presently asking payaent of the weekly benefits. In this regard, it alght be noted that after Mr. Velch's retlreaent, Dr. MoCarthy had forwarded insured a fora indi cating that his difficulty was in faot related to his eaploynent, however Mr. Loviok had written that oarrler and inforaed then that in his opinion, the difficulty was in no way Job connected, and as a result, Travelers did aoeept the olala. -3- In discussing the situation with the Industrial Accident Board however, we are informed that Travelers has now written them requesting information with respect to Mr. Welch, and it may be assumed that that Company will now deny applicability of its coverage in view of Mr. Weloh's present claims. We examined all of insured's records relative to claimant's medical history, and are at this time forwarding copies of all pertinent Information. It should be noted that the first Group Hospital Insurance Claim Is dated 4/19/63, and Indicates that claimant was admitted to St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula, Montana on 3/28/63. In his Claim for Benefits, Mr. Welch has indicated that he first consulted Dr. McCarthy with respect to his present disability on March 27, 1963. We do not presently have information concerning claimant's medical history prior to that date, however will attempt to obtain whatever may be available, either through cooperation of counsel, or discovery proceedings. At any rate, it is interesting to note that Dr. McCarthy's First Report, dated April 2, 1963, describes the injury aa "f'ueumonl tis. Post pneumonio syndrome which Is continuing caused by chronic lung asbestosis". The diagnosis appearing on the original hospital claim indicates as follows: "Benign prostatic hypertrophy. Arteriosclerotic heart disease. Chronic lung disease". In March of 1964, It appears that claimant suffered from Bronchitis, and In June of 1964, his condition was again diagnosed by Dr. MoCarthy, as Asbestosis. In March of 1965, a Dr. G. \. Diettert of the Western Montana Clinic, diagnosed the condition as "Acute fibrosis secondary to asbestosis". In May of 19 6 5 , Dr. McCarthy diagnosed "Bronchial pneumonia -- Silicosis". In August of 1965, Dr. McCarthy indicated that claimant had suffered from "Bronchial Pneumonia" and "Pneumo coniosis", in June of that year, and from "Furunculosis" in August. A medical report dated January 24, 1966 by Dr. McCarthy indi cated the condition then existing as "Furunculosis" and the records \then apparently jumped to December of 1966, at which tine claimant was hospitalized with Bronchial Pneumonia. At that time Dr. McCarthy indicated the condition to have arisen out of his employment. as you are of course aware, insured is engaged In the manu facture of a product distributed under the brand name "/onolite''. /onolite is actually Vermiculite, and the ore .evolved is mined on insured's premises through open-pit ae ti.ods. It. is then hauled on trucks to a transfer point where if is dumped in hoppers and then conveyed some 1700 feet to the mill site. It is then fed to the "wet mill" where if is wot processed and screened. Generally speaking, the screening develops two sizes of ore, and the smaller size is concentrated through a floatation process in the wet mill. Hoth sires are then run through a dry shed to the dry mill, arul at that point the fine ore is screened for size. The coarser material is crushed through the use of both roll 'rushing and hammer-mill procedures, and after screening is placed in a holding bin. From that point it is hauled by rruck to storage bins which are situate near the Great Northern Railway, from which point it is shipped to approximately 50 expanding and packaging plants in the United States and Canada. insured does maintain an expanding and packaging plant in the City of Libby where it does proceed on with the final processing procedures with some of its product. ft does appear that the Montana State Board of Health, as well as the Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium at Galen have been interested in insured's operations for some time. The mill of course has created a dust problem, and insured lias been engaged in attempting to improve ventilation and its dust collection system for some years. Mr. Lovick has furnished us with copies of all available information relating to this particular problem, and the first record of interest evidenced by the Montana State Board of Health is contained in a report from that Department to the insured's Libby Offices, dated February 11, 1942, concerning tests conducted on December 9, i'41 . We are enclosing copies of all reports and correspondence involving the Montana State Board of Health for your review, however it should generally be noted that a dust condition in the mill area has existed, and has at times presented a severe problem. fbe report of February II, 1942, prepared and subrait:ed by the Director and Chief Engineer of the Division of Industrial Hygiene, indicates that the dust encountered in the plant contained little or no silica, and that it was therefore classed as "a nuisance dust" with a threshold limit of 50 ililion particles per cubic foot of air. ' >n.`u, |)y la" 'tate boar1' or .na 1tn. iu August of '" a;ra in apnaren t1v specifically -oss: 1er oI a free silica ": r, tnd a nain the dust was described as i f a nuisance type ;v . with a .-.unor free silica content. At the time of these s :.. the isties tos content of the dust had no t been determined as indicated that a small percentage inrreusa :ni' ii '>s t s content of the material being processed would 'uc*' se ernl times greater concentration of the dust in the Il u, an<t iiiUen-ed that the maximum allowable concentration for as best s was 5 million particles per cubic foot (MPPCF). This report went on to indicate that Vermiculite, hist from this material, was not considered to be was generally considered only as a nuisance dust. content ">1 the ''list however was causing the State Icalth you,- anxiety at that time. or the toxic, and The asbestos Board of : n cpr' da ied fanunry 12, 1959, Mr. benjamin F. hake, wi i. was ihen and now is ihe Industrial Hygiene Engineer >f 1lie '.ate ho ird of Health Pi vis ion of disease Control, indicated t hm his tests conducted on December lb and 17, of "pi.ormlned there to be an asbestos content in the tus i in the mill of approximately 27"*. lie quoted from an Ar !- I i . 'he 'onrnai of Industrial i.vn cue entitled m i'louap' \sit-sios ts " as follows: "Inhalation of asbestos dust must be expected sooner or later to produce pulmonary fibrosis, depending upon (a) length of exposure and (b) nature v,d concentration of (ho dust. Pulmonary ash" i'.us, once established, is a ,regressive iso w 'i a bad prognosis s its treatment car. o"1 . hi toma tic. " o th in the report of lf'5h and 1955 it was indicated that .he maximum allowable concentration of asbestos: particles eoni i he determined only through a "weigh tod overage1 formula evolving the concentration of material and the hours of exposure, and neither report indicated that the asbestos oncentration in the mill was either excessive or a- ep table. in r* io,-, iraihviap tests conducted, .u 'or' A >f ! again by tr. hen a - 1 a -*aUe, it was ind ica led ihat .i had been d'termirn- ' c a t `he airborne dust in the mi 1 i contained appro.'tir.;'*::y <i- ?c "treinolite asbestos". it was further ini ica ted tluu while originally it had been felt that the vermiculite dust should be classified as a nuisance type ally, later information supplied by the United .States Public :'c a 1 t h " e rv e iiii'l: a rol that the vermiculi`e without asbestos -ficen t r a t on s h o u ld in f a c t be c l a s s i f i e d m the o r d e r of , - a - . i `ce m i n e r a l s># a; id t h a t t h e max i a u n c o n c e n t r a t i o n .tl l e s h o u l d ho 20 M1TCF, r a t h e r t h a n 5 Mi T CF. A g a i n , t u nee or ashes toa fibers obviously was <ausing some anxiety in 'die mind of the engineer concerned. a review of a report relating to tests conducted In 1963 atraa indicated there to be a rather high asbestos concentra tion in the air dust in the mill, and additional ventilation was recommended. It was indicated that the maximum allowable concentration of asbestos concentration was 5 MPPCF, based upon a k0% asbestos content in airborne dust. Ve are In addition to the above reports, attaching copies of correspondence which merely sesos to fairly well establish the existence of an asbestos concentration in the dust at the ni!i site, and the sincere attempts by the insured to alleviate t h e entire dust problem through the improving of its dust olection am! ventilation methods. he luting all of the above background and information to the instant ease, it would seem we must first consider Dr. C. Q. McCarthy's diagnosis as set forth in his attending Physician's First Report, dated January 30t 1967, copies of which you have in your file. You will note that fr. McCarthy states as follows: "Exacerbation of chronic lung disease, suspect bronchopneumonia. All of these superimposed on silieosis. Chronic Pulmonary Fibrosis, secondary to asbestosis, pneumoconiosis secondary in 7 ona1ite ." l discussed tins particular case personally with Dr. McCarthy at his offices in Missoula, Montana, and believe we may expect him to act as an advocate on claimant's behalf, lie is positive in his assertion that Mr. Welch's condition is a direct and proximate result of his employment, and His exposure to dust in ths insured's prsmises and operations. He indicated to me that he felt that there were four known pneumoconiosis rssulting from inhalation of dust particles, and further that he felt we might be faced with an entirely new and \as yet unestablished industrial disease. f.'e indicated that he had concluded positively through x-ray examination and tests that claimant does suffer from asbestosis, and informed me that the symptoms of this disease as exhibited through x-ray, were as easy for him to detect as a "red flag being waved" or something to that effect. ' id of ocurse interesting to note that hr. McCarthy is oire".t'y d lagnosinc a case of silicosis, '-ouh i-i e ! >.i'h ,ah->-: o s i s , together with an unknown pnetmO''oni o s 1 :> "if "lar" r.o /.oua lifo " and T am sure he feels he has* r'vjs ovf-r`"! nil possibilities. Fr o:.; a !1 information furnished us, as evidenced in t.he ' m insures , we simply should not in any w a y be facing t.he roblen of silicosis, in that it has been determined that he fre silica content is so minimal as to present no problem, rir the 1o tor to describe a "Pneumoconiosis secondary to Zonalite" is, it would appear, so sweeping in extent as to have no value as a diagnosis. As above indicated, "Zonolite" is merely a trade name, and the actual mineral involved is Verraiculita. Whether the Dootor is attempting to describe i pneumoconiosis resulting from inhalation of Vermiculite lust would seem to be questionable, and from oy own conversa ,hir, vi !h him, 1 feel he has included this particular I;i.'U'.os ls i-: an attempt to assist Mr. Welch to the greatest . * r ent p o s s ibl e . Wo arc i- formed that the minerals processed in the mill, wnich presumably would exist in some combination in the fftieral dust 'evolved, are as follows: 1 DlopMido, CaO'Mgi .2Si0o 2. .vugice, CaO *3 (Fe,Mg)0*Alo0^. A.siO^ 3. Vermiculite, 10(Mg,Fe )0.A(AlFe) o 0 ^ .lOSlO^.7iIo0 '-irioc !ases lthe group), Ma,,0. A1 ,,0, .6S10-, to Ac..M2U 3 .2Si02 * - > rthoe lases (mainly raicrooltne ) Kn0 . . oSi .'loti te (K ,I!),.u( Mg,Fe )0 .(Al ,Fe )n '. ^ .3Si 0 , Act m o l ite , caO. 7.(Mg,Fe ><.^si0 ^ . Tremol ite, 2Cao. *MgO .s$i ().,.fi_,0 races of other minerals (magnet!te, titnmtu, (.elite, and quart'/1 have been detected at v a n on 3 tim es. As C understand, items 7 and 8 are some type of asbestlform, whrnh i s a u .wremely short fibre asbestos. '.p von ir oi irsf* ;iwar, -<ee t ion 1i.m is > o ion a I liseases ia .*>i1ieosis and Ashes i'*s ia , logo'-wer v,: 'sow m g `<v v'ar-i0U3 enen i''aIs and eorn'ovm ts . <o f pros u."it' we should consult a chemis ; in this respect, :t r<in Id 'u- !iy understanding that in the instant case, we oon.si.der ourselves concerned only with the pro hi cm re1 ill.n:i tu Silicosis and Asbestosis. Again, if the m l <>rr,iatinn so far available is correct, if in fact Mr. Weich suiters from Silicosis, it should be extremely dlffii ilv to pro \ i;nate 1y connect his condition with his employ ment by our insured when considering the lack of free silica in the air, arul 1 presume we may be fairly confident that we can successfully defend a claim of Silicosis. >e uusi, on tiie other hand, not underestimate the exposure 1 1 '!i f'spt.'i i to the claim of Asbestosis. I have personally iisols iue general facts with which we are here concerned c i i! ir. I. > . .Am gut, Superintendent of the iontana State 'uheren lesi s Sanitarium at Galen, Montana, who in t">5G e' idonoed ;w interest in the content of the lust in the mill a ; lbbv, as we i1 as wait Mr. Benjamin Vake, the Montana State Hoard of Health Industrial Engineer. r. heigh i inlorms me that to his recoiic .an, he, at least m one pluvious occasion, was consulted with respect lo a iinmoiiar) problem exhibited by one of insured's employees, hit recollection of the case was that he hud at first felt his party involved suffered from Asbestosis, and had obtained irun insured a list of the substances their raw ore contained. He indicate i however that it had in that case been determined .hi i. (he i `re.on involved did in fact actually suffer from a disease known as Sarcoidosis, which apparently exhibits 1arac ter is iLos very similar to Asbestosis, but winch in fact - a disease of unknown origin, and not considered to be the ie.su it "f outside irritant. ir. Anigiit turther stated that he did not fee 1 that ! r. U:car thy could make an absolute diagnosis ol Vsbest<>*i-> without a biopsy. As you are of course aware, hr. r.nighi i>. o.osi certainly considered to he a loader in his own field, 'aid it would `.mV my assumption tuut other specialists would agree in :hi s r e s p e o , ai'.hougn we are informed that Asbestosis most otrrainiy does exhibit certain characteristics discernible b> x-ray. ' ithout attempting to invade the province of whatever experts we may c o n s u l t , we f i n d the following in lest book o f led m i n e , m i l l , . di t ion, C c 1i i a coeb, at Page lOylt sbes to si3 t3 a form of pneunonoconi os l3 produ 'ed hy *he inhu'atiou of dust containing .ishnstua r rock wool fibers. The fibrosis of rhe lung differs fron that of silicosis in that if is not nodular, bur, distributed In collar-like fashion around the atria a.ul the respiratory bronchioles. he fibers fi.in r'l^ir way along the Interlobular septa and I'i m the pleura, outlining polygonal figures oi ' hi c*-Mack color. Under darkfield illumination luminous asbestos fibers may be aeen. Asbestoeis boi ^ s , which consist of such fibers on which irnncontuining material is deposited, may be seen in sections as clubbed or beaded shapes. These are also seen In sputum from time to time. "Symptoms of disability, dyspnea and eaugh appear re ! 1 1 1voiv much earlier in the course of the disease than is usual lu uncomplicated silicosis. " ; .('>is depends upon the history of exposure; Hi.-' ,>1" >r;;nce of an irregular reticular fibrosis in the lung roentgenograms, which has no specific features, and the finding of asbestos bodies in the -uituri. Confirmation at autopsy depends upon the ie-ii'uy (ro .ior; of the asbestos fibers and bodies in the Tissues undergoing fibrosis." Mr. fake, of 'he State hoard of health, agreed that the free silica content of the dust u* the area was such as to almost necessarily rule out any connection between Mr. Welch's employment and the condition of Silicosis. lie did express . opinion !;at the insured had been taking steps as required 'r susriros f>! to alleviate the entire dust situation, and t:' rh<- r sent operations were probably within the noundaries suggested' by the State hoard of Health. He did luiicatc ' i.t in the past, a problem had existed, and that be had considered the possibility of claims arising relating i< \n he s os , . '1ninumt `s employment in the warehouse since I0'oto vc.nl .! not invp pjq.ospd him to any concentrated dust, of,her tear, the dus ? i'hi d: does pervade 'be entire area around the .sf1 I. \'r. a he `r formed that to !us r e e d lee tion he had a ] ,r caused tests to be couducfed at tlie warehouse. - it contains only art s , ma tor >?.Is aid stinpl ies f id von! : "t s'-'C: to present any sort of exposure other than iha f necessarily (.resent around the mill site. Mr. Lovtok !i*s advised that his Uorapany does possess a dust-counting ev ;* i< nl tp that used by the State Board of Health, tud '::<t t'ov do and have conducted their own air tests from time to time, and may iiave some records relating to 1i,sl.s made ui or near the warehouse. .! . 'c-! si's ;:r -xposiire would of . :<rst* i ,ra iv.* 1 > 'i i.<i .u: was cap i..)ved 11* the axil, .'>wev'*r he wouo i r. l !ion be tx;iost>.i when driving tru-'k , ! .-a iing undo- m e ii.^r !;o->e r^ and Mauling ><> the railway .nwo t1 n. in a >f -'a il December 3^ 19b1> from Mr. K. A. r '.etch, ::r-.,.crc r 'i t :e Libby operation, to Mr. J. \. Kelley, copies f >t.ii'll are attached, reference la made on 'age k , to the , 'sure ;>re?out fit the lower ore bins. We quote as follows: "Load Luc of the Kenworth truck beneath the lower ore bins is a dusty operation in a somewhat confined spac.*. The drivers are respirator-equipped and after opening the loading gate do not need to remain at that point but can move a few feet to a clean location. The truck will not overflow. It takes approximately 5 minutes to load the truck. Total loading time is about 1 hour per day. he ventilation oroliiem is mraerise and other than a rigid enforcement of respirator wearing, no change is scheduled. 'he haul road to the river loading bins becomes very duini during the dry season. Again water was formerly used init tiie situation has been adequately coutrolled hv Lite use of oil as in the case of the mine haul roads. 'ho lumping of the Kenworth truck into either the river loading hoppers or the horizontal storage ^rentes dust in considerable quantities because rhe vermiou1ite has been handled through ihe skip system, lover re ms and Kenworth truck load m e . LaoM lia.i'liuff has bosh cumulative. however, actual du:npi.a-, is in the open so exposure is reduced to a low .mo i`'yuen l records iudicate that Mr. Welch was employed as a truck driver in this particular phase of the operation from , l'L *9 to 1- it)/ -Vi, from i *.*/1/51 to i/i/32, and from 4 / 1 o to li)/l/3h. ihe remainder of his work history involv ing cons true tion, truck driving in the tame, operating a sand truck and his warehouse experience would not m l m a t e uifexpVeure t0 concentrations of dust. ..are mfarmed by all physicians we have ques Honed, 'hat t h e s u s c e p t i b i l i t y to diseases of the type with which we are here concorueu, varies greatly from one individual to another. 'tie physician informed us that he would not consider it unusual to find m exposure existing in 19V), resulting in a disability as late i*``6, <iting cases of Silicosis which have taken ment\ >aars io develop. on the other hand, Dr. Knight, of * *b>' i ' - t i . i -a 111 i ,i ' Llira e .vp r < s d-j ! ->a r . ;' : . a ' i! - . lid ,,-na i i heinvolved m>i -e '.n- d i iat t . .i I i.) isabl tng . 'is .m e s*-:n * . i-'t who would be so susoep tib :e as to d*va !op . ' > a.- a result of exposure o f i fov"ninths, i.j ; v" .v odtraoL the disease quito s.w if1 1 y . . r imv ir.jurcs tnnoes, it does at Least appear that we n a Li :><* ale ;o establish that Mr. Welch has not been .t/ased uiy concentration of dust in his e.nployaent .*ia-e he took tin; i in cite warehouse in October of 1 0 5 6 , ; t h . s no i u t .any be o f some i m p o r t a n c e :u o u r d e f e n s e o f ' hr ' l a i !,s i t'sf'ilit*'1. v ' 1 ' n o i r e , one t i o n b d - i 311 i . i . p r o v i d e s a s f o l l o w s : " ! ". . .. . / . . ' : > a i si... ' 1 b e p a i d w h e n 1 <* l a s t dn v c i i i . r i <o.s v p o s u r e o f ' he o a / l o y o e t o .... e i ;... on.-up, i o i . a s d i s e a s e h.u, o niirr ed < > : `` i f . . . - ; L / e . -t a!e o f i i i u a . e . v *<p. t . i s se<- . t o n , p a r a g r a p h "a", s u b p a r a g r a p t i . ... e. ., * >j. ..i ei; iio ;i vee-is io ij.p iy only i. tlie 'vent a r. *op ' yet; inis rteeii discharged or transferred from !uv .'iu as a re.su 1l of an oorupa t . o u a i disease . re l .. that eu-.ployment, and in the m s :nut case, it ap; e.r .h.vi lit'. he ' simply unt iuued to work until o :i iic..' aas uuablf) to adequately perlorn 'its duties. . a v t i. . (Late of the tot was tue date oi its approval, ai .. " a aad .. woo Id so-.-u to follow thai if iu , .. , > i.!e p, os m ulish that work in the warehouse n. i -ion * i-mosure'' thou, as he inis been eap loved a li.oJ.j. ;,1 IS Ino,. I , Ills iilB1 illjur iOils evilOSurt* oust . ... .ri i\ h a v e in-en pr.or to iliat date. . a .Jo.i a :ui to- upa t .oaa 1 . isense Ac t does of c o m He provide >-r ;:i*- ii`.)i>-dure t be f.ilowed w ii1. respar t io o*-1o r..itn ing . i:oi .iv1of ;a ms -pj->.1e:11u1i. i.im e r the `on;..ina n<;ia i i-!..>,c l if "a ( .ir iodust'-.ol iiia i10 ..t hoar I is to a,.,-oin ? a -in*ii*-'s a; i . a i .*h ?u i a ! a u c i Itre, uet.ibers oi w. 1a are t v ; .. ,.I -*b .1- oolldui: I IlHCCs.-nlt} .!K`>!: a] \.;.-|i mt ions. in : . - : ' iv >.or iit'.Oni i n a l i < i o j ii I >a a v . . iiu . .:> f a . - t .: -.i. . . ':o* i or -o"ini itet1 .s m <-\is te:.c> , -.no . -i .- 4- i.i..; .nn -i . a i procedure generally is -iere ly .on. .' o a -i.alifio! pltysician to make nod uou.luo t the V. . , ' .......... i I t' d . , s li<>n of Toxtjato causatin.i as 11 ir '1 1.1,! * :0 r in iu 8ome <letai in hoc tton 92-1 "5 .s lr>t*P3 !riod by :,1.> Ludustria 1 Ac <1 '1 a u t Hoard after 1 ' 'r i> <, i '>.os .ve , 4-vl !.;! .os 1 1 lony, is of record. The de fens o f the . i : '.ore presented will of course invo 1v< Ion. I of i jvi:3au> aeration, and it is my assumption we will wish ;o have available as much information as possible to establish .`** lack of free silica in the area concerned, as well as an attaa'M to establish that the asbestos content of the oust is n t such as to constitute a proximate cause of the Asbestos!s condition claimed. I assume our problem in this latter respect cannot be minimized. I f. would further appear that we should contest any diagnosis >i isbestosis as such, and most certainly any diagnosis of iieuraocoru os is related to onolite. If Ur. Knight Is correct, I I may he t ha t o t h e r e x p e r t s w i i l n o t he w i l l i n g i u g i v e a n I-,. 1 n 1 o.t a s 1 0 t ae e x i s t e n c e o 1 A s 'o e a t o s t s Without biopsy erooedure. In this respect, it ls my understanding th.it the industrial Vcciieat .,oard will appoint a physician qualified to conduct exaiuinatii.u and express an opinion on tot* points concerned, however m ray discussion with Mr. -wanhe's, Chairman of the !nan a 1 r in. d.c.'ideni Hoard, i gained ;he <ri,u ossion that lie on i 1 ;i.*i .vuidiately think of auv prac iitioner in Montana anl iioc; .1 reci.ly on the subject of Asln*snisi9 . jet aiding against the claims presenteu, we may further .insider 1 he effect of Sections `)2-i3l2 and pg-1313, relating hi are sen! 1 *1< of written claim and noii.e of disability, e pew !.1 *.he . 0 3 ant <ase it wou Ld appear that Attorney nzivi did r 1 re the industrial Ace,, dent Hoard in duly of l<(>",, ludi- ,Him! liitu his clienr did suffer from Asbestosis resulting trot h.is on; '<ovir.en i, and requesting 1 ns rroe :tons as o rocolure . ,,d ct n:,i forms. it dona not .lowiiviii appo.ir that dr. .eioh was at that time more than partially disah! I, and ol course as we know, lie did continue on with n.s ca*< lovneut until hecember of I'thl. ' ' \\ it* dyes 'inwev. appear that 111 duly of I9t5 both Mr. azivi uiil his I'.-:' wore claiming t'aat .'ir. he 1oil nut sutler from isbesfosis insulting from his employment, and that disability .flit reiviii. *. ' i s ' l ai n f .r b e n e f i t s , Mr. Ve 1' h L s i n . l i n o ! ' h i t his . s i i . 1 1y l n;ca ! <u M. i veuber '.), 3`*0 ( . , :,.>we v* r u a l s o , ; ..i '*n; l y h a s |io;:o i t nl i n t h e la Co o f Ju i y , 1`.'--'i. l'nd<*r i .v iT.s t.no- s, il would seem that we should ho .hie t.u :,it)l .ah <u; t claimant did in jfao t become disabled on a eraher , . >td>, at which time he loft insured's emp 1oy- ."Otu, and further it would appear that the evidence will .data!.'- .!.,; Mr. Welch on that date was well aware that b; supposedly suffered from Asbestosis related to his 0 jp11'yraoa;. .ootIon pd-lyly would require hita to file a Kotice of disability or Heath with respect to conditions other than Ml cost s wiUiui thirty lays after he "knew or should have .now,: the iuuir of the impairment... and its relation to la* e:!. :..-men t.'M leohmcnlly interpreting this statute, 1; would no.';.: dial Mr. Welch should oonse?uently have given ,.;i u ,.o ;.r* .ir ! .;>m i l i> "to his employer, lhe insurer or ,u;i i d o- .as"- ...ay ho" on or el'ore ttie n t.h day of he ' i`:d i, ' U.!,. . No 1. do S r. ned i.b repu jrod co ho ia Wt'i Ci lut , utld u . . .-,V. 1i'i ii .U fOV ili. Li ui., ! 1 U,;iS0d :y . be on ; -n. ;<' be tu r i>-sh>d by the o- ni !. : m o .I.f.1liai.1 ;.1.1t the industrial h.ni Me .:t hoard does not ' .I-;.' in.. turn ishe d sut ti fnri.is, however whether (his ii lure 1 . .no ..oa rd '-ou 1d be -ons idore ! :o relieve Mr. -1h 0 ! :he ionu Lreoients of this de* :im. ia, it won 1d pear, qUlto questi on.tble, \ aj> **' i , a, written votice of hi sab j.illy bus ever been . r*. js 4 r ! J "'.;- e:n] `o_>^ 't, 1 assu.:.e , to t!i i .surer, and -i jHi i *hr tii t no Lie received by the indug trial .Incident /<ir 5 [r . ./.1.t'8 '0 ;ter of danuury 1'>, Idt-7, and til* lui Hi i-i it^UC i*.'o itci!i'b ;--oeiiiber in, 1 u/ , ucid nj ,.arei: r.1y -. (; t -Ml 'V 1a., i.oard ou ianuary lb, 19b7. U >i0. .. !h re,pi irenfti'.f.s of .eotion Ih-lVid re 1a tive u forma 1 < t<1iCl rf*(|ulti uy 3..u ( 1aim i.o be presented ln writitig, umler i.. l . | t t v i d i ; u thirty day a .. itor filine. Nu ' i o o f i is a bi 1i cy , .aV'H been .-utisflod by the fiiiinz o i the laii! for i.`' 10 t 1 s . o v i1 i-'.n t; one d , still it won 1d aeeiii Uia t it fan ** u V L ; ' . .. d ' . i e 11 'h simply has not fu . r wed :!. ; ,:i u 1 ' ` * j* I . . . 1 e 'a . ' . I S ifd.d ;ve 1o r i:..e1v if ;un -.ii i s pari, . ' f V . i:. l c : 0 l . e r filing of writ Ulti l a l ili n 11 , - ' ' ! client Hoard has indicate d t b a t they w o u l . i - . i> I1 ! o i i > r* i c .i : i ;.. . u > of Mr. Welch in evi d e n ;; r- prier io t 0 0 0 ; w i t h n o t i t cal examination, and ] t. is of 'ourse f s i b i . ' n tie-v wi 11 further destro fha n v i d e n c e relating . .! i e !*j > and o u f i d of evposure be n i s c a v a i l a b l e a t .n 1 ' i. : < . I -- i v a r " `i , c I .iro i. ; .'J ;. j v e ve r '<*' ..-ra., x. uu\ r i.* r f*r .s..t Al ' 'd l <o 1n<I>jb t r i a 1 ;l 11 3 1/ Silages i!>;*. \.lI r ' u` industrial Accident hoard ,imi c i s e o t r i e r erno^, i.'ak iuc fonoal denial of the - Jaias '1r '-cleh on all grounds which appear to be a. m t c a., t.w further discuss procedure with Mr. nvauberg i'(.'sorii,:ie.irtiv oj li:e'rtonal>n"ear tihfy hlev wvonuyldofdedsoiprees;;iisnni,u, oabntdaifn,,r rl,ine0 r l k . o v<* ` ; t-A ie' -i u s t o r e l a i n t h e a e r v i . - , ; , ; f o u r own *1;*11* ' r e-ou toouefi such procedure roes n o ' e ( act. ' u - " > a i u i ni!t h e t e s t i m o n y m Mr . `/ e l e h , t "C :`U e o dove lOf >N1rh sGne .pr i,i.1p;ir ' * ' `1 ' - * o r e s c u i o n d : f i o n , i . <.. who h e r n (i : o ; a 1 i n i l i a r . i i ' i e r u s r e c | u i r e d hv !l-.le in! rS" a,- rnr i,i.e vuur rev iew Us i.1 11 Ih I`ene f1 l (;i ii. ois von nay have. ' a f tlie above , <st;o r.s or 1 h i e r i. , v . r r ' i 'o/.n .op;iir.u d