Guy G. Gabrielson, Jr. to the Asbestos Information Association Legal Research Committee on State of the Medical Art Witnesses (1979)

A one-page memo of January 8, 1979, from Guy G. Gabrielson, Jr. of Nicolet, Inc. to the regular members of the Asbestos Information Association/North America's Legal Research Committee, on "State of the Medical Art Witnesses" and "Use of Data Bank." He enclosed two memos from the association's special counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft: one on a trip by Ms. Carey E. Gross "to the West Coast to interview possible expert medical witnesses," the other on how much the data bank was being used. He also sent all committee members a revised list of potential "State of the Medical Art" experts, noting that it left out experts "already well-known to defense counsel, such as Dr. Ford McIver of Charleston."

What it shows

The memo shows the industry's trade association building a list of medical witnesses to testify, in asbestos lawsuits, about what medicine knew and when (the "state of the art"). The enclosures are not attached. The witness search was reported to the Executive Committee in December 1978 (Motley #728) and again in January 1979 (Motley #730).

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

G.G. Gabrielson memo to Legal Research Committee (AIA), 1/8/79, enclosing two memoranda from Special Counsel (Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft): one reporting on the trip made by Carey Gross to the West Coast to interview possible expert medical witnesses and another on the extent of the current use of the data bank. Also enclosed is a revised and expanded list of potential "state of the medical art" experts. (Enclosures are not attached.)

Related documents

• Asbestos Information Association Executive Committee Minutes on Expert Witnesses and the Califano Letter (1978)
• Asbestos Information Association Executive Committee Minutes on Califano, Smoking and Expert Witnesses (1979)

About this copy

This is document 729 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-003137 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-003137.