Plaintiffs' Response Claims State Tort Law Not Pre-empted by OSHA

CLEVELAND -- Plaintiffs in the welding rod product liability MDL have filed a response opposing the defendants' motion to dismiss claims under the Hazard Communication Standard, arguing that the state tort law can not be pre-empted by OSHA standards. In re: Welding Rod Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1535 (N.D. Ohio).

Filed March 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the plaintiffs' response asserts that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has already established that OSHA can not pre-empt state-law tort claims, therefore nullifying the defendants' claims that the post-1985 failure-to-warn claims are precluded by the …