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{
    "localId": "75729018",
    "label": "Copies of Court Documents, July , 1935",
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    "id": "75729018",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Copies of Court Documents, July , 1935",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75729018",
    "collections": [
        "Safety Light Collection",
        "Records Related to Radium Dial Painters"
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{
    "seq": 7,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
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    "ocrText": "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT\nDISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY\nHAROLD J. WEBER,\n(\nAdministrator Ad Prosequen-\ndum of LOUISE HANLE WEBER,\n(\ndeceased, and HAROLD J.\nWEBER, administrator of the (\nestate of LOUISE HANLE\nREBER, deceased,\n\"\nPlaintiffs,\n(\nAction at Law\n-YS-\n(\nUNITED STATES RADIUM CORPOR-\nCOMPLAINT\nATION, 8 corporation of the )\nState of Delaware,\nDefendent\n)\nThe plaintiff Harold J. Weber, administrator ad-pro-\nsequendun of Louise Hanle Weber, deceased, says thats\nFIRST COUNT\n1. The plaintiff is 8 resident and citizen of the\nsunicipality of Live Bridge, Ulster County, in the State of Now York. The\nplaintiff was duly appointed and has qualified as administrator ad pro-\nsequendum of Louise Henls Weber, such appointment having been made by the\nSurrogate of Resex County, New Bersey, on June 17, 1955.\n2. The defendant is a corporation of the State of Delaware.\n3. The amount in controversy herein exceeds the sun of\n$5,000.00, exclusive of interest and costs.\n4. Prior to, during, and for many years after 1918 the\ndefendant was engaged in the namifacture and sale of various commodities\nrendered lundnous by the application of radio active substances, particularly\nthe dials and hands of watches and clocks.\n5. The defendent maintained a plant at Orange, New Jersey\nwhere substances containing radio active materials were prepared and applied\nto the commodities hereinabove mentioned, the redioactive materials used\nbeing radium, mesothorium, and thorium-x.\n6. Each of these last mentioned materials whether used\nalone or in any combination, is inherently potent and inherently highly\ndangerous and injurious to human health and human tissues when brought into\nclose proximity with the human body or when introduced therein, and was in\nfact highly dangerous and injurious as used by the defendant in the quantities\nemployed in carrying on the operations hereinabove mentioned.\n7. The defendant employed the decedent in the year 1918\nand for about two years thereafter, in the ordinary course of its business,\nto work at the preparation of a substance containing some or all of the\nradio active materials above mentioned, and in the actual application thereof\nto the dials and hands of watches and clocks, at the plant maintained by the\ndefendent in Orange, New Jersey.\n8. The defendant negligently and carelessly, and despite\nits knowledge, actual and constructive, as to the dengerous and injurious\nnature of these radioactive materials to human tissues, 80 conducted its\nbusiness and so caused the decedent to earry on her work, as to cause her to\ningest and inhale large quantities of solid and gaseous radioactive sub-\nstances contained in and given off from the material with which she worked,\nand likewise omitted and failed to supply her with reasonably adequate and\nsafe tools, appliances, methods and working conditions for carrying on her\nwork, end on the contrary emased her to prosecute the same with unsafe,\ndangerous and inadequate tools, appliances, mothods and working conditions, and\nlikewise onitted and failed to varn her or apprise her of unusual risks attend-\ning her employment known to it and to its knowledge not patent and observable\nto the decedent end of which the decedent WIS wholly ignorant, and likewise\nonitted and failed to warn her or apprise her of the dengerous nature of the\nredioactive materials with which she was working, and of which she was wholly\nignorant, and otherwise negligently and carelessly used and employed the\nredioactive materials above sentioned in and about its place of business.\n9. As the proximate result of the negligence and careless-\nness of the acts and omissions of the defendent stated in the preceding para-\ngraph, redioactive materials were thus ingested and inhaled into the body of\nthe decedent and became in part, lodged and fixed in various organs and tissues.\n10. The nature of the several substances fixed and deposited\nin the body of the plaintiff's decedent is such that they continue to remain\npotent and active for many years and produce by their inherent natural\nproperties destructive effects upon human bones, tissues and other portions\nof the body, of which properties and actions the defendent was, in 1918,\ncharged with knowledge.\n11. The fact of the fixation and deposit of radioactive\nsubstances in the body of the decedent was first learned and discovered as the\nresult of an autopay performed on the body of the decedent on February 22,\n1935, the decedent having died February 18, 1935. The radiosctive substances\nfixed and deposited in the decedent's body produced her death on the date\naforesaid My causing in her bones a condition of rediation ostistis, injuries\nto her blood, and particularly a metastetic osteogenic sareoms of the\nmediastimm. At the time the cutopsy use performed, it me revealed sead first\nbecame known that the redicective substances fixed and deposited in the\ndecedent's body were responsible for a primary osteogenic sureons of the\nhunerus which necessitated the asputstion of the right are of the decedent\nIn January, 1954, and for a malignant growth upon the jaw which necessitated\nthe removal of three teeth.\n12, The decedent left her surviving ns her hoirs and next\nof kia, her bushand, Herold J. Feber, and five children, Therese, 12 years\nold, Katherine, 11 years old, Louise, 8 years old, Harold 7 years old, and\nArlene, 4 years old, all of whom have suffered pecumiary loss by reason of\nthe death of the plaintiff's decedent.\n15. This action is brought within two years next after\nthe death of the plaintiff's decedent.\nJudgment will be claimed on the first count in the sun of\n$75,000.00, together with cost of this suit to be taxed.\nSECOND COUNT\n1. The plaintiff is a resident and citizen of the mmiel-\npality of Olive Bridge, Ulster County, in the State of New York, The plain-\ntiff was duly appointed and has qualified as administrator ad prosequendum\nof Louise Hanle Neber, such appointment having been made by the Surrogate of\nEssex County, New Jersey, on June 17, 1935.\n2. The plaintiff repeats the allegations of paragraphs\n2 to 12 inclusive of the first count.\n5. By reason of the negligentéanner in which the\ndefendant conducted and carried on its business as hereinabove particularly\ndescribed endby reason of the general nember in which it earried on con-\ntimously the business above referred to, employing and soliciting for -\nplayment large numbers of persons continuously, the defendant did in fact\nthereby create and maintain a nuisence, from which the decedent received a\ndirect and special injury by reason of the proximate and natural effect of\nsaid muisance in introducing into and fixing and depositing in the body of\nthe said decedent the substances hereinabove referred to and in causing them\nto come in dengerous and close proximity and contact with the body of the\ndecedent, by reason of all of which she died.\nJudgment will be claimed on the second count in the sun\nof $75,000.00, together with costs of this suit to be taxed.\nThe plaintiff Harold J. Feber, administrator of the estate\nof Louise Hanle Weber, deceased, says thats\nTHIRD COUNT\n1. The plaintiff is a resident and citizen of the munici-\npality of Olive Bridge, Ulster County, in the State of New York. The plain-\ntiff was duly appointed and has qualified as administrator of the estate of\nLouise Hanle Weber, such appointment having been made by the Surrogate of\nEssex County, New Jersey, on June 17, 1935.\n2. The plaintiff repeats the allegations of paragraphs\n2 to 11 inclusive of the first count.\n3.\nFor considerably more than a year prior to the time\nof her death, the decedent suffered much pain as & rosult of lesions produced\nby redioactive substances deposited and fixed in her body, and in addition\nto the pain suffered by reason of the condition of her right are as the\nsame developed, and the amputation thereof, the decedent suffered in other\nparts of her body from the effects of the said radioactive substances, and\nwas obliged to expend and become indebted in large sums of money for medical\nand hospital attention and for medicines and appliances, and was prevented\nfrom attending to her usual occupations thereby producing additional\npecuniary loss and damage, all of which has been to the detriment of the\nestate of the decedent.\nJudgment will be claimed on the third count in the sum of\n$50,000.00, together with cost of this suit to be taxed.\nFOURTH COUNT\n1. The plaintiff is a resident and citizen of the munici-\npality of Olive Bridge, Ulster County, in the State of New York. The plain-\ntiff was duly appointed and has qualified as administrator of the estate of\nLouise Hanlo Weber, such appointment having been made by the Surrogate of\nEssex County, New Jersey, on June 17, 1935.\n2. The plaintiff repeate the allegations of paragraphs\n2 to 11 inclusive of the first count.\n3. The plaintiff repeats the allegations of paragraphs\n8 of the second count.\n4. The plaintiff repeats the allegations of paragraph\n5 of thethird count.\nJudgment will be claimed on the fourth count in the sum of\n$50,000.00, together with costs of this suit to be taxed.\nBamarelick & Emerglick (signed)\nHarry We Sherma a\n(signed)\nAttorneys for and of counsel\nwith plaintiffs.\nShaw\n5201\nUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT\nDISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY\nHAROLD 3. WEBER, Administrator\nad prosequendum of LOUISE HABLE\nWEBER, decessed,and HAROLD J.\nKEBER, administrator of the\nestate of LOUISE HANLE WEBER,\ndeceased,\nPlaintiffs,\n-VS-\nUNITED STATES RADIUM CORPORATION\na corporation of the State of\nDelaware,\nDefendent.\nACTION AT LAW\nCOMPLAINT\nemmerch.ick & EMMERGLICK,\n11 Commerce St.,\nNowark, Nade\nHARRY T. SHERMAN,\nIXI 11 Conserce St.,\nNewsk, Nade\nAttorneys for and of counsel\nwith plaintiffs."
}