Milton C. Watts was diagnosed in 1999 with small-cell lymphocytic lymphoma, a subtype of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Beginning in 1947, Watts worked on a daily basis with Liquid Wrench, which was manufactured by Radiator Specialty Co. and contained a benzene-containing raffinate produced by U.S. Steel Corp. Watts sued Radiator Specialty and U.S. Steel, alleging that the benzene caused his disease.

Dr. Barry Levy opined that benzene can and did cause Watts’ disease.

The Smith County Circuit Court judge denied the defendants’ pretrial and trial motions to exclude Levy. Following the jury verdict for Watts, the trial judge granted the defendants’ motion for judgment nothwithstanding the verdict, finding that Levy’s testimony was unreliable because it was based on 18 cohort and case-control studies that did not support his conclusions. Watts appealed.

The Supreme Court held that though case study review is an accepted methodology, the trial judge must make certain that the content of the case studies is relevant to the facts of the case. In the instant case, the high court said Levy’s testimony about the studies and their relevance could easily have misled the jury.

Of the 18 studies Levy cited, only half showed a statistically significant increase in risk due to benzene exposure, the high court said. None specifically looked at the possible risks associated with use of Liquid Wrench or the risks of development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in mechanics. One study suggested the increase risk for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was not occupationally related. Another reported no significant increase in risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma due to benzene exposure. Several did not provide a dose-response ratio. Not one study concluded that there was a causal link between benzene exposure and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, much less the particular type from which Watts suffers, the high court said.

Copyright 2008, LexisNexis, Division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.