I. P. Tilton to A. M. Schmidt on Gustave J. Carlson's Asbestosis Claim (1935)

A one-page letter of October 30, 1935, from I. P. Tilton, office manager of Johns-Manville's Boston office, to A. M. Schmidt, J-M's insurance manager in New York. Massachusetts's Department of Industrial Accidents had written that Gustave J. Carlson was injured in J-M's employ in 1927 and 1928; on calling the State House, Tilton learned that Carlson, a former "pipe coverer and asbestos worker" in the insulation contract department, was claiming asbestosis, and that his attorney had named J-M along with other employers. J-M's insurer for those years was Standard Accident.

What it shows

The letter is an early workers' compensation claim for asbestosis by an insulation worker, as distinct from a factory worker, against J-M. Tilton's understanding of the disease was thin: he describes asbestosis as "the medical term for Pulmonary Tuberculosis." How the claim ended is not known. Other insulators' claims naming J-M appear later in the chronology, for example the Mulligan claim.

About this copy

The writer's initials are hard to read on this copy (I. P. or L. P.); the name follows J-M's description.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter, 10/30/35, from I.P. Tilton (Boston Insulation Contract Department) to A.M. Schmidt re Gustave J. Carlson. The letter reports that a worker's compensation claim had been filed by Carlson in Massachusetts alleging that he had asbestosis. Tilton described Carlson's J-M employment as "a pipe coverer and asbestos worker." Carlson's claim was directed at J-M and other employers. This document was brought to my attention on 3/6/84, along with a letter from Schmidt to Johnson and Higgins dated 11/1/35 requesting that the matter be forwarded to J-M's insurer, Standard Accident Insurance Co. Schmidt requested that Vandiver Brown be kept informed of all developments relating to the claim. No other information is presently available concerning this claim.

Editor's note: J-M's description also summarizes a November 1, 1935, letter from Schmidt to Johnson & Higgins asking that Vandiver Brown be kept informed. That letter is not in this file, which holds only Tilton's letter of October 30.

Related documents

• California Industrial Accident Commission Award in Riley v. Johns-Manville (1961)
• Gates, McDonald & Company Letters on David Mulligan's Ohio Silicosis Claim Against J-M (1962–1963)
• Armstrong Cork, Travelers and Alexander & Alexander on E. O. McCarrell's Asbestosis Claim (1956–1957)