Document gzk0p0EMzQaG02XK8rrRXx0J
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Birmingham, A la. Mr. W. . S m ith , L o u is v ille , Ky.-
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MGB Cm
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Claim a r r i o r , Alabama
The above named p a r ty has ailed a t o u r o f f ic e and s ta te d to th e w r ite r th a t he was s u ffe rin g fro p a r t i a l p a r a ly s is in h is l e f t arm which had been o au sed , a h e h ad been in fo rm ed by h is d o c to rs, from lead p o iso n in g because he had drunk w ater fro a w ell on h i s p r o p e r ty w hich had been p o l l u t e d w ith Crown G a s o lin e , which a s you know c o n ta in s T e tr a e th y l Lead F lu id *
T h is c a l l was mads s h o r tly b e fo re C hristm as and X
i ,m e d ia te ly went to W a rr io r , 'Alabama and w ith o u r a g e n t . C. B a rn e tt
saati an i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
.
I f in d t h a t on Septem ber 2 9 , 193d we p u rch ased from th e Pan m e r lo a n P etro leu m C o rp o ra tio n two wet hose g a s o lin e pumps and two 10 b b l. underground to n k a and le a s e d same to L* Bum s a t a highway sta n d on U .S. 31, two m ile s n o r th o f W arrior# Our W arrior ag en t a d v is e s t h a t on th e f i r s t p a r t o f May 193? Mr* B urns c a l l e d h is a t t e n t i o n to th e fa c t th a t th e w ell which is lo c a te d behind th e house and about 85 f e a t fro th e underground tan k s co n tain ed gasoline* Our agent G alled f o r a
mechanic a n d ' Birmingham pump' m echanic, ' s'. I* B ich ey , w ent to v ? srrio r on -ay 4 , 1937 and found a le a k in th e to p o f th e ta n k where th e r e t u r n l i n e e n t e r s th e task ,. Mr. B ichey s t a t e s th e r e was ho g a s o lin e in th e h o le ,
b u t th e ta n k was damp and th e ground was daap a t th e p o in t where the o v erflo w l i n e e n te r e d th e ta n k , and th e ta n k we le a k in g * T h is ta n k was removed and a new ta n k i n s t a l l e d by m echanic B ic h e y . Someone had advised Mr. Burns to put liisa in th e h o le which would n e u tr a liz e the ground and c le a r up th e well* Mr. Hiehey s ta te s th a t a hundred pound sack o f lim e was p u t in th e h o le by th e p a r t i e s m entioned above and t h a t
he proceeded to i n s t a l l th e new ta n k and c o v e r lasse up. I am inform ed
by our W arrio r, Alabama ag en t th a t t h i s w ell was clean e d o u t and
c le a re d up to such e x te n t th a t th e w ater could be ag ain used. Mr. ^ M a g m o w n s th e p r o p e r ty on which t h i s equipm ent was i n s t a l l e d a W 5 ^ f ! ^ P lH S 7 owns th e b u ild in g o c c u p ie d by 11* W. B um s e s a f i l l i n g
s ta tio n and road sid e garage.
Mr. ^ H B ^ l a i m s t h a t th e f i r s t p a r t o f d u ly 1937 ha
was s tr ic k e n i l l w ith hem orrhages which c o n fin e d him to h is bed f o r
s e v e r a l weeks en d t h a t fee l o s t th e u se o f b o th h i s arms en d s u f f e r e d
s e v e re p a in in th e a r a s and s h o u ld e r s . U r. w* B. M a rtin a t W a rrio r,
Alabama was c a lle d i n and I a tta c h h e re to copy o f sta te m e n t from B r.
M artin d a te d December- 82nd. I c o n s u lte d D r. M a rtin about t h i s tim e in
c o n n e c tio n w ith t h i s c a s e and he p o s i t i v e l y s t a t e s t o me t h a t i n h i s
o p in io n th is mans co n d itio n i s oaused fro m le a d poisoning which he
a ttrib u te s to the fe e t th at
to ld him th a t he h as drunk
the contam inated w ater from th is w e ll. Mr.
ha s t a t e d t h a t he
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M r. t . i . sfath' L o u is v ille My*
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mg h
drunk t h i s w a te r when nobody e l s e w ould, t h e r e a re s e v e r a l members
o f h i s f a m ily , b u t on h i s own s ta te m e n t he i s th e o n ly one t h a t drank
th e w a te r. Dr. M artin s t a t e d t o mo t h a t he had s e n t t h i s p a t i e n t to
Birmingham f o r f u rth e r sheok up and d ia g n o sis o f h is e a se . X a tta c h
h e re to oopy o f s ta te m e n t from D r. 2 . D ies L in e b e rry o f th e Norwood C l i n i c .
Dr, lin e b e r r y was s u b s ta n tia te d in th is sta te m e n t by Dr. ~-srd, a lso
a member o f t h i s c l i n i c , w hich f o r yo u r in fo rm a tio n i s v e ry r e p u ta b le .
Dr. L in e b e rry h a s f u r t h e r s t a t e d t o t he w r i te r t h a t h i s b a s in g h i s
co n clu sio n s on sta tem en ts made by L r
th a t he drunk th is
co n tam in ate d w a te r, and from th e ex a m in a tio n and t e s t s t h a t w ere made
in th e ir L a b o ra to rie s, Dr. L in eb erry has s ta te d to the w rite r th a t
no tr a c e o f le a d was found in th e b lood t r a c t , b u t b ases h is sta te m e n t
o f le a d p o iso n in g on th e f a c t t h a t t h i s man has th e w r i s t drop end
p a r tia l p a r a ly s is , which he s ta te s could be caused from lead, p o iso n in g .
A tta c h h e r e to copy o f l e t t e r from a tto r n e y Georg hogers
.ated Ja n u a ry DGth. I c a lle d on a tto r n e y Aogere uamlay and s t a t e d to
him t h a t we had n o t com pleted our i n v e s t i g a t i o n . He asked me to com plete
t h i s a s q u ic k ly a s p o s s ib le b ecause i f we co u ld n o t come to an agreem ent
on s e ttle m e n t he would lik e to f i l e s u i t im m ediately so t h i s could be
t r i e d a t May te rm o f c o u r t . I q u e s tio n e d him a s to what he th o u g h t h i s
c b s was w o rth , b u t he would n o t g iv e ise a f i g u r e o n ly s t a t i n g t h a t h i s
c l i e n t had s p e n t .,300.00 o ^ d o a t o r * s b i l l s , a tto r n e y P a g e rs has ag reed
to perm it us to have Mr.
by our d o cto rs and 1 would
su g g e st t h a t we do t h i s nlTonce^Deoaus I c a n n o t <e iie v e in th e f i r s t
p la c e t h a t t h i s man h a s lo a d p o iso n in g b ecau se X do n o t b e lie v e he
could c o n s is te n tly d rin k w ater contam inated w ith g a s o lin e and sine
t h i s was Crown G a so lin e and n o t Crown S th y l G a so lin e th e T e tr a e th y l
Acad c o n ta in e d was sm a ll and th e ta n k s b e in g lo c a te d a p p ro x im a te ly 85
fd e t from the w ell in a sh ale s o il , th a t beyond a doubt a good p o rtio n
o f th e lo ad co n ta in e d in th e g a s o lin e would be f i l t e r e d from tho
g a s o lin e by th e tim e i t reac h ed th e ^11. mI s o th e f a c t t h a t t h i s w ell
c le a r e d up and o n ly o c c a s s to n a ll y woo th o w ate r such th a t i t co u ld n o t
be drunk.
I fu rth e r developed th a t Mr.
to th is
lo c a tio n fiv e or s ix y ea rs ago, th a t he and h is p a rtn e rs were rep u ted
to be b o o tle g g e rs end c o n s is te n tly so ld liq u o r and o p e ra te d a p la c e o f
t h i s ty p e . Our r e c o r d s show t h a t we s o ld t h i s o u t l e t i n :
January 193? February
M arch
A pril May
June Ju ly AUigUSt
SIS g a llo n s 750 w
use w 2735 "
863 " 668 rt
488 w 453 *
The l e s t d e liv e r y we made t o t h i s -o u t l e t was on A ugust 2 1 , 193?. L iq u o r was l e g a l i s e d i n Alabama in May 193 ?. T h is p la c e i s lo c a te d in B lo u n t
'\ . \ \
Br. i E. <fa
lo u is v i l l e , gy*.
;
.
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.
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MGR
County ju s t ac ro ss the J e ffe rs o n County l i n e . B lount County i s d ry ,
J e f f e r s o n County i s w e t. I am inform ed t h a t th e s h e r i f f of B lo u n t C ounty,
which i a d ry , to o k o u t a f t e r th e b o o tle g g e rs when li q u o r was l e g a l i s e d
in J e f f e r s o n County* You w ill n o te how t h i s b u s in e s s dropped o f f a f t e r
A p ril and I am inform ed t h a t L. v.~. Burns* t he o p e r a to r , l e f t t h a t
s e c tio n when en fo rcem en t s t a r t e d .
not leave because ho
owned th e l o c a t i o n . I am ch eck in g f u r t h e r a s t o f a c t s co n c e rn in g th e
bootleg a c tiv itie s and such cases as has been brought ag ain st these
p a r tie s a g a in s t th ese p a r tie s fo r p r o h ib itio n law v io la tio n s . I t i s
my o p in io n t h a t a t to r n e y H ogsra would a d v is e
to accept a
'.5Q0.-J0 s e ttle m e n t b e c a u se a t to r n e y George Bog a rs h a s been f o r a lo n g
tire a g e n t B a r n e tt' s a tto rn e y * ag en t B a rn e tt i s th e Ford d i s t r i b u t o r
a t 'a r r i o r and v i c i n i t y a s w e ll a s o u r a g e n t. A tto rn e y iio g e rs , I
u n d e rsta n d , has a ls o re p re s e n te d VflPMHte in h is sk irm ish es w ith th e
law . 'Jo n o t b e l ie v e a tto r n e y K ogers would je o p a r d iz e h i s c o n n e c tio n
r.ith agent D arn stt because o f t h is c a se , on th e o th e r hand he having
previously represented
he would n a t u r a l l y want to make a
settlem ent for h is e l i e n l '
I t i s my o p in io n t h a t t h i s i s n o t a c a se to s e t t l e , bn th e o th e r hand i t w i l l be a c o s t l y c a se to d e fe n d because o f th e m edical testim ony th a t w ill be necessary to prove th a t th is mac's p a ra ly s is was caused by som ething o th e r th an d rin k in g th is contam inated w ater fo r a sh o rt period o f tim e, e x p e rt chemical testim ony w ill be n e c e s s a ry to prove j u s t what c o n te n t o f le a d th w a te r would c o n ta in under s i m ilia r uircum scanoes and w hether i t would poison a m an's system to the e x te n t t h a t i t would cause t h i s man*a p a r a l y s is .
I have learn ed fu rth e r th a t Ur.
been a
heavy d rin k e r, c e rta in ly h is stomach hemorrhage co n d itio n could have
been caused from th is .
I am a t ta c h in g h e r e to e x t r a copy o f D o c to r's s ta te m e n ts and th is l e t t e r should you need i t fo r th e E th y l G asoline C o rp o ratio n
sh o u ld i t b@ yo u r d e s ir e to have t h e i r d o c to r s examine i f you e l e c t to do t h i s . A dvise no we w ould l i k e to make th e n e c e s s a r y arrangem ents in advance w ith a tto rn e y Hagers. f o r th e n ecessary exam ination.
CC: Mr. Chas. G. M id d le to n , L o u i s v i l l e , Ky.
0011129
COl'Y
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GEORGI ROGERS
3-AWYSH ' '
l i r s t N ational Bask Bldg. Birmingham, Alabama January 38, 1938
S tan d a rd O il Company, 801 - 6 th &rsau S outh,
Birmingham, Alabama
Gentlemen :
have been r e ta in e d by Mr .
who l i v e s
a sh o rt distance above W arrior, to re presen t n il ^ i^ ^ ^ r ia i fo r 1
damages a g a in st you a s a r e s u lt o f h is w ell being p o llu te d by
gasoline and h is su ffe rin g lead poisoning as the rem ilt of
drinking the water therefrom .
I f youeare to s e ttle th is m atter w ithout litig a tio n p le a s e communicate w ith me a t o n ce.
Very tr u ly yours,
g r/h
Georg R ogers
t
"44-;
iS.
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C O P
Y
DR. MARTIN' W arrior, Ala. December 22, 1937
l r. M. G. H in d s, Standard O il Co. Oirmingham, A la.
'
.%
Dear Dir:
.
'
On o r abou t th e f i r s t o f J u ly 1S37 I was c a l l e d to see *"r . who was s u f f e r i n g from a p ro fu s e g a s t r i c
hemorrhage and pain in sh o u ld ers and both arras.
At th a t tim e I tho^ight he had a g a s t r i c u lc e r and tr e a te d him f o r t h i s , b u t h is arms co n tin u ed to become worse and in the course o f a few weeks developed a p a r tia l p a r a ly s is in both arms with severe pain.
About t h i s tim e we o b ta in e d a h i s t o r y o f h is having g a s o lin e in h is d rin k in g w ater and Dr. L in e b e rry o f Norwood C lin ic and m y self
agreed on a d iag n o sis of le ad poisoning.
S ince th e o n s e t, h is r ig h t aria has reco v ered b u t he s t i l l has the ty p ic a l w rist drop p a ra ly sis o f lead poisoning in l e f t forearm , how ever, th e sever p a in f i r s t a s s o c ia te d w ith t h i s has d is a p p e a re d , ., but th e re has been l i t t l e i f any improvement of p a ra ly s is in l e f t arm in th e p a s t two o r th r e e m onths.
Sincerely yours,
W, B . M a rtin , M. D;
'
0011131
Y THIS NORWOOD CLIHIO
2501 16 th Ave. lio. Birmingham, Alabama
January 31, 1938
Mr. M, 0 . E in e s , Standard O il Company, Birmingham, Alabama
Bear S ir:
Mr. was r e f e r r e d t o me by D r. W. 3 . M a rtin , W a rrio r, Alabama, Septem ber Q, 1937. At t h i s tim e he was concerned ab o u t two c o n d itio n s ; f i r s t , f o r th r e e o r f o u r y e a rs th e re had o c c a s io n a lly been a burning in th e upper abdomen r e lie v e d by ta k in g -s o d a . About August 1, 1937 he had vom ited a la rg e amount o f blood and had passed blood by bow el. Dr. M artin had tr e a te d him f o r u lc e r o f th e stomach and th e stomach co n d itio n had g r e a tly improved. Second, ab o u t two days p r i o r to th e v o m itin g o f th e b lo o d , he had begun to com plain o f p a in s i n b o th arms and f o r two weeks p r i o r to c o n s u ltin g me, th e p ain in th e l e f t arm had been so bad ae to re q u ire la rg e doses o f morphine.
On ex a m in a tio n he was found t o have a weakness o f th e l e f t w r i s t , in m ed ical term s known as w r i s t d ro p , w ith some l o s s o f se n s a tio n o f both arm s, b u t more in th e l e f t . A com plete exam ination of th e blood and urine., g a s tric a n a ly sis and x -ra y exam ination o f th e stomach was made by us Septem ber 7 , 1937. A p ro b ab le d ia g n o sis o f c h ro n ic le a d p o iso n in g was made. He r e tu r n e d to see u s a g a in November 2 9 , 1937, a t w hich tim e he was h av in g no p a in in th e arms and th e s tr e n g th was r e tu r n in g to th e r i g h t arm , b u t be s t i l l had a com p lete w r i s t d ro p o f th e l e f t . At t h i s tim e we o b ta in e d a h is to r y o f him having been d rin k in g w e ll w ater co n tam in ated w ith e th y l g a s o lin e f o r about one month p r i o r to th e hem orrhage from the stom ach. The d r in k in g o f t h i s c o n ta m in a te d w ate r was d is c o n tin u e d a f te r he had the hemorrhage from h is stom ach.
D r. H. 3 . Ward saw t h i s p a t i e n t w ith me in my o f f i c e and a g re e d w ith my d ia g n o s is o f c h ro n ic le a d p o is o n in g .
Yours very tru ly ,
iSDL/ra
'S . Dice L in e b e rry , M. D.
0011 13 o
