Document baBgJ0KJ2yE7KBDMZLw21EMvk

FILE NAME: Owens Illinois (OWILL) DATE: 1935 Jan 15 DOC#: OWILL059 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Conference Presentation - Silicosis SYMPOSIUM ON DUST PROBLEMS Tuesday, January 15, 1935 The University Club, 1x3 University Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16, 1:45PM J-- . Chairman, W il l ia m P. Y a n t , Supervising Engineer, Pittsburgh Experiment Station, U. S. Bureau- of Mines MORNING SESSION-- 9.30 A.M. i -- THE PRESENT D A Y SITUATION: Mr. A. C. Hirth, Williams, Eversman & Morgan, Toledo, Ohio. 2.-- THE MEDICAL VIEWPOINT: (a ) D r. E ugene P. P endergrass, X-Ray Laboratory, University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (b ) D r. A. J. L anza, Assistant Medical Director, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., New. York, New York CO D r . R. R. Sayers,. Medical Officer in Charge, U. S. Public Health Service, Washington, D. C. T BUFFET LUNCHEON-- izrjo p.m. Main Dining Room, University Club Courtesy of Mellon Institute a AFTERNOON SESSION--a.:oo p .m . 3-- PRECAUTIONS: (a ) P rop. P h ilip D rinker, School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts. (b) M r. F. R obertson J ones, General Manager, Association of Casualty and Surety Executives, New York, New York. 4-- OPEN DISCUSSIONS, led by: (a ) D onald E. Cummings, Assistant Director, Saranac Labo ratory for Study of Tuberculosis, Edward L. Trudeau Foundation, Ironwood, Michigan. 0 0 Dr. Sam uel R . H aythorn, Director, Singer Memorial Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. THE PROBLEM " By lif te d C* Hirth of Williams, Evaramaa A Morgan>^ Attorneys :\ This meeting has been oalled to provide affected in dustries with an opportunity of disoussing a oammon problem and of oonsidering trays and means of solving it* I have been advised th at i t is a family meeting in irhioh tre may o all a spade by i t s rig h tfu l name trith the assurance th a t tre trill not be quoted in the press or elsewhere. 1 do not for a minute pretend to bo an expert on eilio o sia * I am fa r too near home to make any such pretension* However, fo r the la s t two years, I have devoted my entire time to the various aspects of the silio o sls problem* This has ineluded the t r i a l of oases, the formulation of leg islatio n , super vision of corrective engineering and the sotting up of:adequate medical programs to safeguard both employees and employers* The experience I have gained in th is work has brought me a realizatio n of the enormous proportion of industry's problem in so fa r as i t s dust hazard ia oanoerned. That whioh was a rather disturbing p o ssib ility three years ago, has now beoame a grim re a lity and one th a t requires oonoerted and well dlreoted action* I f I can RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45.PM__ - 2 leave that single thought with you, I w ill feel that my offorts have been well spent and hope th at in doing so I w ill have rendered you some servioe. Goldberg of Columbia, states th at MThe importance of dust as a factor in occupational m ortality has attracted the a t tention of every authority on oooupational diseases from Hamazzini to Sir Thomas Oliver* I t requires no extended consideration to prove th a t human health is much influenced by the oharaoter of the a ir breathed and th a t i t s purity is a matter of very considerable sanitary and economic lmportanoe. Aside from the risk of exposure to so-oalled air-borno diseases, the pollution of the atmosphere by organio and inorganio dusts is unquestionably the oause of a vast amount of ill-h e a lth and premature mortality, ohiefly among men and women engaged in the many indispensable trades and ooaup&txons th a t minister to human needs* The sanitary dangers of a ir contaminated by disease-breeding germs are possibly not so menacing as generally assumed, whils the destructive effects of the dust-laden atmosphere of factories and workshops are a deoidedly serious menace to health and l i f e **1 Disability resulting from the inhalation of any of these various dusts may re su lt in lia b ility on the part of the employer, the extent of which 1b now being demonstrated by the epidemic of silioosls oases* The serious situation in which industry finds i t self is a result of our laok of knowledge of the extent and even of the existence of the hazard and the naans which should have been RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16, 1:45PM - 3- employed to remove it* I ooanot feel that Industry ahould be oalled upon to pay the b ill Jty feelimg3, however, aro unim portant in view of the very definite notions to the oozrfcrary entertained by moat juries* The rapid spread of those oases is su fficien tly serious to present a question of national importanoe. I t is the purpose of th is meeting to disouss th is problem in te llig e n tly , find out where we are and where we are going from here. You w ill be ad dressed by individuals who are experts in the particular phase of the problem whioh they w ill present* I w ill oonfine my paper to a general picture of the entire situation, my thought being th a t the teohnio&l papers oan be followed more easily i f you have a general background first* In treating teehnioal questions, 1 sh ali try to do so in nonteohnioal language. I w ill not attempt to give a so ien tifio ally sound tre a tis e on the subjeot, but aa I have already said, w ill content myself in giving you a rough pioture* There may be industries represented here whioh. do not use any free s ilio a in th e ir process and most of my remarks wil} be direoted to s ilic o s is which so far as we now know la oaused solely by the In halation of free silica* The principles involved, however, are equally applicable to a l l dusta* The d isab ility , i f any, re s u lt ing from other dusts may vary in in ten sity and in oharaoter, but fundamentally, the problem w ill be the earns* For the sake of convenience, I w ill preaest the problem in seotions* F irst in order shall be "S ilioosls, I ts Cause and E ffect"; Second, "The Basis of Employer L iab ility " j Third, "The RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. !:45PM \i IIW W I i vuw Legislative Aspect", and Fourth, "The Elimination. of the Hazard" S ilico sis, Ita Cause and Effect 3 / There are innumerable duets whioh find th e ir 'way into the human lung resulting in -varying degree a of harm. The general term wpneumonoooaiosisMis applicable to a ll dusty lungs irrespective of the oharaoter of the particular dust inhaled and is the Greek te rn for ndusty lungs". The deleterious effect of the inhalation of dust was well known to the ancients. Pliny (B. C. 23), the poet, Lucretius (B, 0. 96), Paracelsus (15340, Agrioola (1566), and many others were so Impressed by i t th a t they mentioned i t in th e ir writings Agrioola stated th a t i t was not uncommon to find women in the mining d istrio ts who had married seven times and there were no divoroes in those days. The Colorado miners have for yeara referred to certain dust producing air d r ills as "widow makers". I t was not, however, u n til very reoently, about 1912, th at worthwhile research and olinioal work were undertaken. The appalling effects of mineral dust on the workers in the gold mining d istrio ts of the Rand, South Afrioa, stimulated and in itia te d a world-wide study and research in s ilic o s is , culminating in the International Conference on S ilic o sis, held in Johannesburg in 1930* The general fie ld of pneumonoooniosis is divided into numerous smaller fie ld s depending on tha oharaoter of the dust finding i t s way into the lungs. Thus, we have anthraoosis, resulting from RECEIVED TIME MAY, 16. 1:45PM 'OUi iVIU un iw i i*iiLCUUIl-tU 1 . vu * 5~ the Inhalation of. hard ooal duat, bituminosis frota soft ooal dust, asbestosis from aabootos dust, sidrosis front iron dust, and numerous other olas si f loot ions. The chief concern of industry is centered around s ilic o s is resulting from the inhalation of s ilic a dust, because i t is th is dust th at causes disability Of th e various oses I have referred to , tie are now advised th a t asbestosis is perhaps the only one in addition to s ilic o s is whioh is disabling. I t may be th a t in the future we shall find other disabling dust diseases* At present, however, wa can confine our atten tio n to silicosis* For a b etter understanding of the problem, i t might be well to consider very b riefly and nonteehnically the process from whioh th is disease results A ll a ir contains a oertaln quantity of s ilic a dust As a m atter of f a c t , about sixty per sent of the earth's orust is composed of s ilic a . A baby as young as eleven days old w ill have some minute s ilic a deposit in i t s lungs and tha normal c ity dweller w ill during his lifetim e accumulate in his lungs m illions of parti les of such dust which, however, w ill not in any way disable him So i t w ill be seen th a t the mere exposure to , and inhalation of s ilic a dust does not necessarily re s u lt in the contraction of siliooaie* The human lung and i t s various defensive organisms are so oonstruoted th a t only very minute p arti les of dust oan gain entrance to the a ir sacs of the lung. We are only oonoernsd RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM With p arti les su fficien tly small In size -be gain such entrao. In no oaae oan such p a r tid a s bo larger than ton miorona in th e ir longest dimension. Mediool soienoe is reasonably well sa tisfie d th a t most of the partiles oausiag harm, are less than throe microns in th e ir longest dimension. A micron is 1/25,000 of an inoh so i t is quite possible th at the harmful dust may be invisible. In addition to the sise of the partiles, the dust to be harmful must be of a sufficient concentration, which i s measured by the number of p artic le s contained in a oubio foot of air Authorities have stated th a t a concentration of five m illion p a rtic le s of free s ilie a less than ten microns in sise is not harmful, and th a t any greater oonoentration constitutes a hazard. Dr. Boisliniere has dssoribed the physical process so oimply and d e a rly th a t I shall borrow his ideas in presenting i t to you. When these minute partiles of dust enter the a ir sacs of the lung, they are soon enveloped by phagooytes whose function i t is to remove them from the a ir sao and carry them.;into the sewage system of the lung. These vehicles travel along the highways sad byways of the lymphatio system attempting to reach th e ir proper destination outside the lung proper. Enroute there are lymph nodes or aggregations of lymphoid tissues or c e lls which aot as tr a f f ic oops, allowing same of the vehicles to continue to th e ir destinations but holding up others. The arriv als may be greater than the departures resulting in a veritable tra ffio jam at these pl&oea. This w ill ocour mors readily i f the lymph nodes have by previous infections, such as early tuberculosis, badea f ille d , RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM 7- calcified , or fibrosed* When these dust o ell6 beoome lodged in the lymph spaces, nature engulfs them in a fibrous tissu e . As more and more dust becomes collected, the fibrous tissue increases in density and after su fficien t dust is inhaled, these fibrous tissu e s 'will increase even though no additional dust may find i t s way into the lung. Fibrous tissue corresponds very nearly to sear tissue and as i t becomes more massive, the lung loses its e la a tio ity and becomes rig id . The resulting condition Is s ilic o s is . In the interest of simplicity, I w ill refer to the various phases of the disease its e lf , by reference to the original American Medico-legal c lassific atio n of 1 st, 2nd and 3rd stages. The 1s t stage oocurs where the disease is in i ts infancy and i f the employee is removed from the hazard, i t w ill not progress and no d isab ility is involved. The 2nd and 3rd stages ere much more developed and may resu lt in a real d isa b ility . I f either of these stages has been reached, the removal of the man from the hazard w ill usually not cheok the progress of the disease, nor is i t subject to any satisfactory treatment. 3rd stage cases are very frequently f a ta l and sometimes the individual dies In the 2nd stage without ever having reaehed the 3rd. Death, however, usually re su lts from some other compliestio n . Because of the fa ct th a t the lymph or sewage systems of the lungs are largely blocked o ff and rendered in e rt by th e ir deposited s ilic a dust and scar tissu e , the lungs are no longer able to combat infection. The most common lung infection is tuberculosis which is RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM - 8- * "1 l L U V U i l oontracted by many silio o tio s and is the immediate cause of th e ir death, although i t may f a ir ly be said th at were i t not fo r the pre-existing s ilio o s is , the tuberoulosis would not have been oonfcraotad. jbsHPHfiragKBgBmgmiaQBfflagCT^^ TKYipnnnnotvyyyr^nqffrprrtwwpnqpr^yrwyy^^ I t is important that we a l l appreciate the seriousness of the situ atio n with whioh we are faced, S ilioosis is a very re a l ailment and at the present time presents our greatest in d u strial hazard which, i f not properly controlled, w ill result in the financial ruin of many oojqpanies. At the present time, there are pending oases in th is country in which damages asked for aggregate fa r in excess of $50,000,000,00. In South Afrloa $55,000,000,00 was paid to s ilic o tic claimants in one year and i t is now estimated th at onof if th of the to ta l ooat of producing gold in th a t area oonsists in the payment of silio o sis olaims. The p o ssib ilitie s of an epidemic of silio o sis olaima is very well illu stra te d in one of our large in d u strial sezrters. The litig a tio n in that c ity is almost entirely in the hands of two lawyers. During the year 1932, one of these lawyers is said to have received in fees from these cases, the sum of $100,000.00, and was not required to try any great number of them. He s t i l l has RECEIVED if ME MAY, 16. 1:45PM t 1 1 ULWUI - 9- psnding in his file s some five hundred additional olahas which have not yet been settled Beoause of th is flood of pneumonoooniosia oases, #m-. ployers generally have oone to regard th is sort of litig a tio n as a "racket". With th is feeling, 1 an very much in sympathy* There can be no doubt th a t shyster lawyers have solioited lite ra lly hundreds of employees to bring actions of th is kind, in many of which there is not the slightest traee of injury. These same lawyers, with the assistanoe of th e ir twin brothers in Iniquity, the quaok dootors, have prosecuted seme of these oases to success fu l conclusions and have forced ethers to unconscionable s e ttle ments v . However, these facts and the use of th is label must not lead you to believe that you are dealing with a situation in whioh the fraudulent oases can be defended on the grounds of be ing a raoket or in whioh there aan be no bona fide oases with a t tendant lia b ility Suoh an a ttitu d e of mind is highly dangerous. There are bona fide oases in whieh the p la in tiffs are represented by lawyers of a b ility and in teg rity and in whioh there may or may not be lia b ility , depending upon the p articu lar faots of each case. Basis of Employer L iability ''V ^ In a general way i t may be said th at lia b ility in these oases may arise under the dootrines of the common law, under the statutes whieh have been passed in the various states to protect the health of employees or under the provisions of workmanfs compensation and occupational disease acts RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM Ii iIVttUlWi i in 1*1iCCUUl l`lU - 10- Conaon. Lew L iab ility ' > -0 The oommoa lair oonsista of those principles and rules of aotion which from time to time have been adopted and acted on by the courts when administering ju stic e in oases not governed by any w ritten law. One of the principles established by the oourta under the oommon law is that nhioh requires employers to furnish th e ir employees with a reasonably safe plaoe in whioh to work Originally, th is doctrine applied only to the safeguarding of machinery and appliances from whioh accidental injury might occur. I t has now been broadened, however, so as to include anything whioh may be injurious to the employees1 health* I t is the fa ilu re on the part of tha employer to provide a reasonably safe plaoe to work whioh gives ris e , a t oommon law, to lia b ility in s ilic o sis oases* HThather the employer should be held liable for injuries to his employee's health resulting from failure to provide a reasonably Bafe plaoe to work depends on whether the employer had knowledge of the existence of such danger, or whether, in the exeroise of reasonable care, he should have had suoh knowledge* The dangers of many manu facturing processes to the health of workmen have been a matter of common knowledge as long as industry has been in existence* The dangers of other manufacturing prooesses, however, have not been well known for very long, and this lack of knowledge should weigh heavily in favor of the esployer in determining whether he has provid ed reasonable proteotion for h is employees I t is a defense RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM ** - 11- whieh ire oan strongly urge, but one upon whioh Tie cannot too strongly rely. Assuming th a t employers should hare known of the dangerous character of c e rta in duets, the question s t i l l remains as to whether reasonable protection against; suoh dangers has been provided. This is a question of f aot ordinarily for the determination of the jury. The various pruteotive devises and equipment idiioh have been adopted by the industries generally, or by a particu lar industry, furnish some evidence as to whether a given plant or factory i s a reasonably safe place to work This evidence is not conclusive, however, sinoe an e n tire industry may be held to have been negligent. Each oase must stand or f a l l on i t s own fa c ts, A place which would be regarded as reasonably safe when the hazard was unknown or l i t t l e understood would not be so considered a fte r the hazard had beoome known to the employer or was suoh th a t he should have known i t . In other words, you might possibly he excused for your past acta of omission but those days are gone forever, ' L ia b ility Under Statutes In many s ta te s , statu tes have been adopted prescribing ce rtain safety devioes and methods for the protection of employees from dangers arising from th e inhalation of dust. Failure to oon- form to these sta tu te s is negligence as a m atter of law, and i f i t be shown th at the d is a b ility oompl&ined of was a d irec t re su lt of suoh negligence, p la in tif f very probably w ill recover judgment# RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM W<lfr:l '91 ' m 3WI1 03AI303y - 12- r The statutes of the various states differ greatly in d e ta il, and I shall not attempt to enumerate them. Generally speaking, they inolude one or more of the following provisions requiringi the installation of dust eliminating equipment; the providing of approved respirators; the furnishing of working olothing for employees; the examination of employees monthly by a physioian; the furnishing of dressing rooms, lavatories, hot and oold showers, and various other to ile t fa o ilitie s ; the whitewashing of the inside of plants and factories, etc. I t is perfeotly apparent th a t many of these provisions were not intended to be and should not be applied to plants produc ing those dusts which arc capable only of producing silic o sis &b opposed to those dusts which are in themselves generally regarded as poisonous. I t iB against the la tte r dust that many of these provi sions are designed to afford protection. Notwithstanding th is fact, in a number of recent silic o sis oases the jury were permitted to consider any violation of these statutes in determining whether or not the employer had been guilty of negligence. This presents a highly hasardous situation. I f a jury finds that the employer has been guilty of some negligence, they probably w ill go further and find th a t the injury complained of is a direct result of suoh negligence} and the finding w ill be sustained by the eourfc i f there is some evidence in support of i t , even though there be strong evidence to the contrary. r* 1 ru_ t i A rt-n t i_ 4 4 u n n u t i *1 i u u u i i i u i . iu - 15- Eaoh of you should determine what statutes and stata regulations may govern your operations so far as protection of employees from the deleterious effects of dust are concerned, and the greatest care should be exercised in conforming th ere to , to avoid placing yourselves in the situation I have Just described* L iab ility Under Compensation and Occupational Disease ActB* Workmen's compensation acts generally are designed to provide compensation for employees who have suffered acoidental \ injury. In a very few states, beoause of the terminology used in the aots, they have been oonstrued broadly enough to inoluda silicosis* In addition to workmen's compensation aots, some states have adopted occupational disease acts whioh in principle are very closely analogous to the compensation acts, but which pro vide for compensation either for occupational diseases generally, or for oooupabional diseases specifioally named in the aots, euoh as anthrax, lead poisoning and many others* 8ome of these statutes Include silic o sis as an occupational disease* At the present time, I believe th a t in C alifornia, Varyland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and the D istrlo t of Columbia, silic o sis is compensable either under the workmen's compensation act or under the occupational disease act* In several s ta te s , b ills are now pending to make silic o sis compensable under one or the other of these aots* RECEIVED TIME MAY, 16. 1:45PM I i in IIUi I 1 I L L U U I i "to r. i i - 14- r~ n/ The Legislative Aspect ^ Legislation of th is ehiaraoter is the strongest bulwark you oan ereot against future d isaster. I t has been reoommendeA by the League of Nations and has been adopted by many of the great Ur dust r i a l countries. In our country. Congress has very lim ited powers in dealing with th is problem and the individual states have been woefully lacking in ooping with the situ atio n and I oaunot urge too strongly th a t you give your active support to properly drawn b ills seeking to males silic o sis oampsnsable. s In "England and many of her dominions whioh have had ex tensive experienoe with silic o sis and kindred diseases the d is a b ilitie s have been made compensable under oooupational disease acts and the system generally has been very successful. Under such aots the vioious situ atio n with whioh. we are now faoed, the filin g of thousands of actions fo r damages by unbulanoe-ohasing lawyers would be largely, i f not e n tire ly eliminated. The shyster lawyer w ill foment litig a tio n only so long as he w ill reoeive a substantial portion of the recovery. As soon as his fee becomes a negligible quantity, then^) and then only, w ill his in terest cease. Under many of the b etter drawn compensation aots, legal fees are s trlo tly lim ited. The elimination of large legal fees is a real benefit to the employee. Under properly drawn compensation acts, the in jured man or Ms dependents are those who reoeive the b enefits, not the lawyers and expert witnesses used in the prosecution of the case. RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM - 15- This benefit is also shared by the employer. L itig a tio n of th is charaoter is very expensive. In a reoent oase trie d in West V irginia for s ilic o s is , the t r i a l lasted for eight Weeks and resu lted In a disagreement by the jury* thereby necessitating a re p e titio n of the whole process. The expense of t r i a l in one case with whioh I am somewhat fam iliar was in exoess of $25,000.00, and the oase was one where there was no l i a b i l i t y . Under compensation aots the compensation is payable in installm ents. In most oaseB, i f i t is found th a t the award was unwarranted, the olaimant may be reexamined and his compensation may be reduced or discontinued. This, of oourse, would not be possible i f the case were trie d to a Jury. The value of th is p artic u la r feature is rather w ell illu s tra te d by an incident which occurred la s t summer. A negro brought a claim against a s ilic a company alleging permanent to t a l d is a b ility from s ilic o s is . His case was investigated by the em p loyer's insurance c a rrie r end i t was th e ir conclusion th a t s e ttle ment of $2,500.00 should be made. Any such substantial settlem ent must have been based upon th e ir oonviotion th a t the oase presented a re a l d is a b ility and a re a l li a b i li t y . The olaims adjustor went to the residence of the olaimant and escorted him down to the office of the insurance company to reoeive his cheok. On the way down the olaimant was so distressed by shortness of breath and general de b ility th a t he found i t necessary to stop several times in each block for a re s t. He presented what appeared to be a man in the RECEIVED TIME MAY, 16. 1:45PM c u u u iu l ul i ii t t u u i n v w v i o 1 1 1 v i w r n A ix v . 1 4 l i i i i u o i i 4 o r . io - 10- throas of a mortal ailment. Ha reoeived hia check and soma weeks afterward the claimant participated in a baseball game in which h is b a ttin g record consisted of a home run, two tr ip le s , two doubles, and th ree stolen bases. Heedless to say, had th is man been re ceiving workmen's compensation, his award would have been promptly discontinued. In some sta te s the defendant in a lawsuit does not have the rig h t to a physical examination of the p la in tif f, whereas under workmen* s compensation acts th is rig h t would be granted* Zn oases of the kind with which we are here oanoerned, th is is o f the g re atest importance in view of the fact th a t without the use of X-ray i t is impossible to determine a p l a i n t if f 's re a l condition; nor is th e de fendant safe in relying on X-ray plates produoed by the p la in tiff* The technique of taking an X-ray photograph in s ilic o s is oases must be followed with the greatest oare or the photograph w ill not show the tru e oondition. I t is possible for s k illfu l X-ray operators to take X-ray photographs in such a way as to simulate '.a' s ilic o tic oondition whereas in re a lity no suoh oondition actually exists* What is even more important than the advantages upon which I have b rie fly camaented, is the elim ination of ley ju rie s from cases of th is kind* We are not here dealing with the type of in ju ry which the jury can visualize and understand, such as a broken arm or a broken leg, but with a very complex lung oondition which is not understood even by the madioal profession generally* Even a fte r some experience, many competent dootors are incapable of accurately diagnosing a s ilic o s is oase* RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM 17- Muoh of tho evidence ia those oases consists in the testimony of medioal experts. In a ll oases you w ill find th a t a sharp conflict w ill e x ist between th e p la in tif f 's experts and those of the defendant. Their testimony w ill not only be conflicting but w ill be in such form and couched in such language as to be wholly u n in tellig ib le to the jury and often to the court. That a ju ry oan weigh aueh teatimony and oome to a correct oonoluaion is most improbable In compensation oases the hearing is had before commis sioners or a medioal board who in time w ill become su fflo ien tly fam iliar with the subjeot to enable them to arrive a t a reasonably oorreot conclusion} whereas in jury oases eaoh case is tr ie d be fore a new jury who have no information on the subjeot a t all I f oare is taken in the drafting of a compensation law the proper machinery eon be aet up to minimise the p o ssib ility of recovery in fraudulent cases' I t w ill not be fool-proof but i t w ill be a step in the right direction and w ill ultim ately prove i t s worth both to employer and employee The d iffic u ltie s enooiuiberad in trying cases of th is kind to a jury were very well illu s tra te d in t t m i s w u iM iitiT O gBC a recent oase wherein >KwsyksiBttaxibt>iMsgJbqpcdagnKHyy ^ sleixJbiuMiHTtiila iislpgaiufcMt the p la in tiff Was em ployed by the defendant company whioh was engaged in the pulveris ing of 8ilioa He brought suit alleging to ta l and permanent d is a b ility resulting from s ilio o s is . The reoord in th is case covers over a thousand printed pages. RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM The defendant rroduaed as witnesses the most outatand- ing experts In the oountry in the fie ld of dust. :,imong them were Professor Drinker of Harvard, Dr. Eugene P. Pendergrass, Dr. -.V. Frederick Betja r, Dr. Frederick Id llso n , and others whose opinions on th is subject have been generally aooepted. v . . The testimony oonolusively showed th at the defendant. had taken every possible precaution fo r the protection of i t s J workmen against duBt, th a t i t had in stalled the la te st and most approved type of dust-arresting machinery, and had furnished the ' workman without oharge, the most effioiezxb respirators' available, which they were compelled to wear under penalty of disohargs. Dr. Pendergrass, one of the outstanding Roentgenolo g ists in the country and an authority on lung pathology resulting ' ' . ' . . from the inhalation of dust, described In d etail to the jury the . oardial points from which i t might be determined whether or not a person were suffering from s llio o s is . He presented an X-ray photograph of the p la in tif f 's lung to the jury and described i t as a normal healthy lung, pointing out In the minutest d e ta il why i t .. Li"'-.*- ' oould not be said to be silio o tio . He compared thiB photograph with the photograph of a lung whioh was s ilio o tio and pointed out the ohsraoteristio differences batm en these two lungs. ' His testimony was corroborated by other experts of unquestioned reputa tion. / ... .I.*V i test ` udunoL ' LtnxJtaffl '*V: RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM - - v\-/ I 4 TV - 19- pnctjd^cxhiaaxKxnBd 4rnnftr>nnqrijM<r-V-frg<fr aqpcs UUw rJtl jncahik-a<rVgAit uta ^avWh a|pMi-tfr zcotiia*xkaxKzfctxx3diegar a airi?tidtxg!dt3aadc xaaank^jomahdB gBxfcaxttapq^cqac ' In my opinion tto reasonable man, haring any adequate Information con cerning th is problem, could possibly have found either th at the olaimant had silioosis or that the defendant had been guilty of any negligence. Notwithstanding th is foot, the jury brought in a verdict against the defendant for $10,000.00. That such a verdict was entirely unwarranted was borne out by the action of the Circuit Court of Appeals, which set i t aside and directed that judgment be entered in favor of the defendant on the theory that no negligence had been shown. If the defendant in th is case had been guilty of negligence and its sole defense had oonsisted in proof th at the p la in tiff did not have silic o sis, i t is probable that the Court of Appeals would not have reversed the judgment of the lower court. Elimination of Hazard Perhaps the most Imprtante single item in your silic o sis problem is the elimination of the dust hasard. 1 suggest that each of you appoint a Silioosis Committee who shall be charged with the responsibility of dealing with your problem. The personnel of suoh a Committee should be composed of responsible executives. Their work w ill require the exercise of sound judgment and w ill involve a RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM I 1WVXW i k / | | u v i t *1 i C C - U U I 1 1 U 10 - 20- rery considerable amount of money* They should adopt a program s u it able to your individual needs and see th at i t is oarried out in detail* This program should include an aoourate determination of the existence of dust hazards demonstrated by the taking of dust counts} the in sta lla tio n of adequate equipment to remove the hazard where possible, and the use of approved respirators where removal of the hazard is not possible; the maintenance of medioal supervision of employees including x-ray examination before employment and periodically th ere after; the fostering of proper leg islatio n ; the investigation of laws pertinent to your operations and upon which a charge of negligence might be based* A ll of these a c tiv itie s should be oarried on by the advioe of counsel so th at you may b e . sure th at you are complying with the laws of your sta te , and th a t thie faots of your situation may be so assembled and reoorded in such a manner that they w ill be of the greatest value in event of a future lacw s u it. i Just a word concerning the defense of silio o sis suits* These oases are peouliar unto themselves and adequate defense oamot be made unless your counsel hae a thorough knowledge and appreciation not only of the law but of the scien tific problem involved* A lack of such knowledge may be ju st the difference between defeat and vietory and I have observed excellent lawyers lose oases for the defendant fo r th is very reason* This comment should not be construed as derogatory in axy sense of the word, 'One can hardly be blamed for not having learned what one did not know existed* Nor do I mean to imply that the loss of suoh a su it is indicative of a lack of suah knowledge* RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM WdSfrM `91 'AMI 3WI1 (UAI303N - 21- You should be ooncaraed not only w ith the suobessful defense of your own cases but of others as we11* In th is situ a tio n the answer to the age-old query, nAm I my b ro th e r's keeper?" is emphatically, "Ve3nI Bach verdict against a defendant anoourages others to bring su it and provides ambulance-chasing lawyers with arguments and money to see th a t they do* Bear in mind th a t in most of those eases, p la in tif f 's counsel receives f i f t y per cent of th e gross recovery, whioh in the past has been su ffic ie n t enoouragement to s o lio it and finance these oases. I know th a t invitations to th is meeting were very largely sent to trade associations or groups of industries wherein a dust hazard does or may e x is t. I have no present way of knowing which or how many of the invited industries are represented here today or the extent or degree of in te re st which those industries may have in th is problem, but the large attendance indicates a considerable in te re s t, which is very timBly under ex istin g conditions, There is a great mass of medical information in the hands of many people, add much research is being done in many places, but so fa r as I know, I t 1b not being oorrelated or coordinated and there is no d efin ite or national recognised se t of ru le s. i Much work is being done in many places and by many people along lines of preventing, or at le a st minimising the dust hazard in various in d u stries, but again, there is now no oentral clearing house--no place where these things oan be assembled, studied and perhaps made la te r into d efinite and recognized standards* O K 1 i 0 0 7 7 T I, I i n n U U .I m iA i i mm i 10 c-uuv i u l u t - J * i i n iiu iu n v w u i o i i iuiio rriA nu. m i i i O o i i H O r. c o ciT - 22- Legislation is being attempted by small groups in various lo c a litie s with indifferent success and perhaps of im proper oharaoter, and the most seoessary thing should not be le f t lik e Topsy, who "Jes* gpowed?,but should be oarofully and sk illfu lly planned. industry as a whole has l i t t l e , i f ary, conception of the extent nationally, of th is damage suit raoket, and no knowledge as to where i t w ill next strik e--and very inadequate defense against I t , There is no one plaoe where a ll information about th is vory grave th re a t ean be made available to a ll in dustries and to the government and to the people. Industry must organise in i t s own defense and cooperate together, both in safeguarding invested capital and in protecting the lives and health of those employed. This is both humanitarian and good business. In closing, le t aw urge again th a t industry should move to eliminate the in tere st of the ambulance-chasing lawyer so th at huge sums w ill not be paid out. for dust disease su its brought in behalf of olaimants who have no disease. And, of even greater importance to the welfare of our people, industry should put i t s house in order so th a t the hazard of dust diseases w ill be removed as nearly as is humanly possible. i-pO RECEIVED TIME MAY. 16. 1:45PM