MDL Jury Reaches $6.25 Million Verdict for Iowa Welder

CLEVELAND - Jurors in the latest welding fume MDL trial have found that Iowa plaintiff Curt Cooley is entitled to $6.25 million in damages for neurological injuries he attributed to a long career as a welder. Cooley v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 1:05-CV-17734 [MDL No. 1535] (N.D. Ohio).

The verdict was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 6, by Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley, who presided over the three-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Jurors awarded Cooley $1.25 million in compensatory damages, but also found that he was 37 percent negligent, which will presumably …