Dr. George W. Wright to Herbert M. Ball on the Asbestosis Defense Task Force (1968)

A four-page letter, marked privileged, of August 20, 1968, from Dr. George W. Wright, head of medical research at Saint Luke's Hospital in Cleveland and a medical adviser to Johns-Manville, to Herbert M. Ball, J-M's vice president and general counsel. Wright comments point by point on R. R. Standel's plan for an "asbestosis defense task force." He writes that "for the next twenty-five years there will be problems of this sort to handle because of the backlog of cases that we have every reason to believe now exist or will develop in the near future," and urges J-M to find and train a lawyer who knows lung disease, since "there simply is no way by which a competent physician can make up for an incompetent lawyer."

What it shows

Wright warns J-M that its legal exposure went beyond insulators. He predicts problems with the company's textile workers and with workers' compensation "with all of the Divisions of the Company," and adds: "I believe you will be faced with cases of lung cancer and mesothelioma occurring spontaneously in employees from all divisions as well as people who are not your employees." He declines to serve as the task force's own medical member, questions whether C. L. Sheckler would make a good witness, and proposes an "indoctrination course" with site visits for the doctors who would testify, as had been done in the silicosis cases. His five points follow the members proposed in Standel's August 2 outline of the task force, which built on his July 25 memo.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

In a letter to Herbert Morton Ball, dated 8/20/68, Dr. George Wright expresses his concern in developing a highly competent legal personality because he has "every reason to believe" that a backlog of cases may now exist or will develop in the future.

Related documents

• R. R. Standel, Jr. to Herbert M. Ball on the Members of the Asbestosis Defense Task Force (1968)
• R. R. Standel, Jr. to Herbert M. Ball on Common Law Asbestosis Claims and the Tomplait Case (1968)