Document wrxO2eQKv57epQvjEBgvavjKB

April 25, 1936 Hr* Otto M. Hamer Attorney: at La-* Suite 1503 : 60 West Washington Street Chicago* -Illinois /.-K vs?:-::v> Dear Mr* Samerf Having r e o o i v e d y o u r letter of April 17th and the record of the lllness of ' s S f l H H k I s peat some time going over the case'in an attempt to arrive at definite conclusions* The general opinion I have arrived at is as follows: The olaim&nt has had a rather serious illness involving his central nervous system and of a type Which does not lend itself to a ready diagnosis* Prom the record one m a y c o n c l u d e that the men who examined him and studied his case wore competent in their field and yet their conclusions were arrived at without certainty on their p a r t * ( There was apparently some disagree ment among them as to the nature of the illness and as to the cause of it*) This would appear to be entirely natifiable in as much as this rather Unusual type of nervous system illness was of unknown origin*/ There are at least five or sis possible diagnoses*; A n y ohe of the five or sis is h u t poorly understood and with the'exception of polio-myelitis which is a vihus disease, the causative agent is a matter of doubt* I do hot believe from the clinical picture that lead or any other chemical factor was responsible for the man<s illness* It is much more likely that his diaeaso was of infectious origin* ' On the other hand it would be difficult* if not impossible*, to1prove or disprove this point o f view#Hssas we must conclude,in the face of an unusual case that If it were to be attributed to lead -absorption* positive proof,of:significant lead exposure would havo to be obtained*/ Otherwise lead intoxication could not be regarded as a sound diagnosis In relation to the question of exposure, the defendant will be required to present evidence that there was no Significant exposure* There is a considerable bulk of evidence to Indicate that lead intoxication of this severity would be practically impossible under the conditions described* As a matter of fact* we have no record of any case of lead poisoning In association with contact with leaded gasoline* and there is.,also good evidence :that no lead absorption occurs in the ease of persons who have dally and regular contact both with the gasoline and with the exhaust gases of motors which 2 Hr* Otto H* Ham** burn such gasoline. It would then be up to the claimant to establish adequate proof that his was an unusual case, that he had an unusual exposure and that he did actually absorb significant quantities of lead* On the basis of the record itself, this nan not be proven,since lead analyses fail to show any evidence of abnormal lead ab- sorption# ' . 1 / ^ " '- Despite the above facts this case is apt to be a difficult one. The claimant will appear in court with a diagnosis of lead intoxication substantiated apparently by reputable physicians. t will be difficult, if not impossible, to prove the exact nature of his illness and therefore it will be difficult to disprove the possibility of lead as a factor* Moreover it is necessary for me to point out that if the character of this claim is as general as such claims frequently are, than the claimant might hold that he had been exposed to both gasoline fumes and to exiiaust gases, (containing carbon monoxide) as well as to lead, and that the combined effect of these or the effect of any one of them was responsible for his illness# Therefore it would seem to bo necessary for the Pochard people to be able to show by suitable evidence that there was no fault in the car which ;penal tted an unusual exposure to these amt rials# Otherhise I feel quite certain that In the failure of expert medical testimony to prove that this man*s illness was not due to something in his exposure, it ma y be assumed by a jury that his exposure'had something to do with it. The mere fact that the man was apparently well before the exposure and that he was; -ill afterward, might b e regarded by the m e m pn the street as evidence of injury from the exposure. Dndr these circumstances I feel that it would be necessary to set up the strongest possible case against the claim in order to 'make ajny impression upon it. I suggest, therefore, that it would fee greatly to your advantage to cone to Cincinnati and toj discuss the details of this case with me in such a way that I can perhaps be of some assistance to you in ds** veloping the type of further information which is necessary and inj presenting for your consideration the information which we have of an experimental and clinical typo on the subject of lead exposure in connection with leaded gasoline. There is such ah amount of data that I could not present it to you in any other fora than in a series of published.technical articles which it would take you some days or perhaps weeks to study, I am sure I can shorten the period of study which you would have t<j> spend by discussing with you the essential points wiiich feave a bearing on this case* I trust you will find It possible to carry out this suggestion, and if you an, I suggest that you let me know twenty-four hours or forty-eight hours In advance of your intended visit so that I Shall not V 0010786 Sr- ' '5?i: m. - 'Sp.V',- ", m * si# Mr Ofcfco M, Hamer igf <*-***- * ^ ` c m engaged elsewhere* * 3 .- At your request I am returning the copy of the hospital record# -:p\ Fery truly yours* RAKjiS Hohert A# Kehoe* M*D#: I.-.-.