Tamraz claimed the fumes gave him tremors, headaches and symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease. Tamraz worked as a welder and ironworker in San Francisco for 27 years.

A nine-person jury said Dec. 5 that Lincoln Electric, Hobart Brother Co. ESAB Group, TDY Industries and BOC Group showed negligence by not sufficiently warning Tamraz of the toxicity of manganese in their products.

Lawyers for those companies said they will appeal the verdict.

Brandy Bergman, spokesperson for the welding equipment manufacturers said the companies are not happy with the verdict, but also are not overly concerned about it.

“We know we can’t win every case, and this doesn’t change our strategy,” Bergman said.

“We plan to defend ourselves against these suits.

“The defendants (the welding companies) believe they should win every case, and the factors in their favor are very strong. The Tamraz case is the first time a plaintiff has won a case since 2003, and there is nothing different about this from other cases,” she added. Bergman also noted that the jury deliberated for nine days, during which time it gave the judge a note saying that it was deadlocked in its decision.

Nearly 3,000 similar lawsuits have been filed by welders who claim that welding rod producers failed to protect them from the potential dangers of manganese coming from the fumes generated by the welding process.

The welding companies have said that the amount of ultra-fine manganese particles in welding fumes is too low to cause harm and those workers who use masks and ventilating fans will not be affected. Medical studies to determine if those claims are valid have been inconclusive.

The welding companies have won 16 of 18 lawsuits related to welding fumes.