Dr. David T. DuBow to M. F. Naylor on Releasing Employees' X-Rays to Their Doctors (1959)

A two-page confidential memo of March 26, 1959, from Dr. David T. DuBow of Johns-Manville's Medical Department to M. F. Naylor of Industrial Relations, after a conference on March 24 with Naylor, Dr. Kenneth Smith, Hugh Jackson, Dr. E. D. Merrill and C. L. Sheckler about how the Medical Department should answer treating physicians who asked to see employees' X-rays. DuBow put the question to the medical departments of six companies: General Motors at Linden, New Jersey, Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Esso at Bayway, Bakelite and American Cyanamid. All made X-rays available to the patient or his doctor, and when an examination found something new, their replies "emphasized the importance of transmitting to the employee the new findings, to alert him as to the urgent need to take corrective measures."

What it shows

The other companies' doctors stressed "the possibility of legal liability due to failure to divulge necessary information for the maintenance of the health of the employee," and all seemed guided by the principle "that what was good for the patient was, in the last analysis, good for the employer." They agreed that X-rays could be subpoenaed, but that this "was considered poor public relations." DuBow recommended that J-M keep making its X-rays available with the patient's authorization, and, in cases under litigation, inform the Safety Department first. Merrill later described how abnormal X-rays at Manville were reviewed with the safety department before any formal report (Merrill's 1979 deposition).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Memorandum from Dr. David T. DuBow to M.F. Naylor, dated 3/26/59 concerning a meeting attended by Naylor, K.W. Smith, H.M. Jackson, E.D. Merrill, C.L. Sheckler, and DuBow, which included a discussion of the appropriate response for plant Medical Departments to requests from treating physicians to examine J-M employee x-rays.

As a result of the meeting, DuBow contacted the Medical Departments of six other corporations to inquire concerning their procedures. These companies unanimously responded that they willingly made x-rays available either to the patient or to the treating physician. The other corporations were also queried concerning disclosures of x-ray findings to employees. "The replies emphasized the importance of transmitting to the employee the new findings, to alert him as to the urgent need to take corrective measures, and every effort made to see that the treating doctor had an opportunity to examine the x-rays."

Three of the six corporations responding took additional steps to refer the employee to outside consultants and to relay findings to family doctors. DuBow concluded that on the basis of the above information, J-M should continue making x-rays available to outside doctors upon appropriate authorization from the employee.