As a part of its continued effort to keep the gases and welding industry informed of the latest rulings and judgments involving welding fume litigation, the Third Quarter issue of Welding & Gases Today features an article from Michael Degan. Degan is GAWDA’s joint defense fund coordinating counsel for welding litigation and a partner with Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP. His article is called “Fume Trial Win Underscores Need For Indemnification Agreements,” and it focuses on what a recent welding fume litigation decision means for distributors.

According to Degan, the year started off on a positive note with another defense verdict for the industry in the first welding fume trial of 2010. On March 26, an Ohio jury returned a verdict in favor of Hobart Brothers, Co., after rejecting the claims of Texas welder Ruben Arroyo. After being diagnosed with manganism, Arroyo sued Hobart Brothers for failing to adequately warn of the dangers of being exposed to welding fumes, in addition to other theories. After a one-week trial, the jury found in favor of Hobart Brothers on all counts. The Arroyo case was the 24th overall win for the industry in the 29 welding fume cases that have been tried thus far in state and federal courts.

He tells readers that the win is certainly good news. However, Arroyo did not begin welding until 2005, which underscores that welding fume lawsuits will continue to be prosecuted and are not going away anytime soon

Later in the article, Degan explains the need for distributors to obtain indemnification agreements and additional insured endorsements from manufacturers whose products they carry.

The only way to find out all of this valuable information is to head over to www.weldingandgasestoday.org and check out Welding & Gases Today, the online resource for the gases and welding industry.

For more information, contact Dan Vest, editor of Welding And Gases Today at dan@datakey.org or 315-445-2347.