"....The onset of adequate health and safety standards in the radium industry in the U.S. lagged behind comparable developments in Europe by nearly a decade. Government health and safety recommendations in this country were developed only after pressure from advocacy groups and the growing public awareness of the medical plight of many of the former dial painters forced state and federal agencies to act... Delay in government action was also apparently caused by the U.S. Radium Corporation's efforts to impede investigators through:
1) the loss or destruction of records; 2) tampering with on-site evidence; 3) attempts to intimidate the initial medical investigators; 4) misrepresenting the findings of the initial investigators to state and federal agencies between 1924 and 1925 - Historic American Engineering Record HAER NJ-121, National Park Service (1996) page 79
Grace Fryer led the fight by finding attorneys. Many were frightened by the prospect of fighting the radium corporations. In 1927, Grace found a lawyer willing, Raymond Berry.
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Raymond H. Berry/Pit River Country
Although the girls had representation, many had little time. Reporter Walter Lippmann wrote a story that brought the Radium Girls national attention.
New York Times, 1928. ProQuest
The New Jersey Consumer's League helped by pressuring experts like Cecil Drinker to publish his findings on dial painting. His previous findings were altered by the company in an attempted cover-up.
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Personal Photo of Letter Viewed, June 8, 1937 Rutgers Archives
Promising publication
In June, 1929 the Monthly Labor Review published a document supporting Drinker's findings.
Survey of industrial poisoning from radioactive substances, June 1929. ProQuest - Click image(s) to enlarge
The girls attempted to file a suit for $25,000 each, but the USRC denied all charges and even presented a doctor (later revealed fraudulent). The girls later settled for $10,000 each and $600 annually until death. The dial company in New Jersey shuttered after pressure from the Consumer's League.
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New York Times, June 1928. ProQuest
New York Times, June 10th, 1928. ProQuest
New York Times, Oct. 27th, 1929. ProQuest
For some, victory was short lived.
Meanwhile, women in Illinois had just heard about the New Jersey lawsuit. Catherine Donohue decided her tumors weren't going to stop her. In the mid-1930s, Catherine began fighting for justice.
Catherine found lawyer Leonard Grossman who agreed to work pro-bono. Grossman convinced 14 other former colleagues to testify with Catherine on February 11th, 1938.
Personal Interview with Leonard Grossman Jr. - Speaking about why lawyer Leonard Grossman decided to take the case /2018
When Catherine asked her supervisor why staff doctors didn't publish medical exams he said:
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Charlotte Purcell, a dial painter in Ottawa, Illinois, demonstrates lip-pointing. /Chicago Daily Times, courtesy of Sun-Times Media
The Ottawa “Radium Girls” with Attorney Leonard Grossman./Chicago Daily Times, courtesy of Sun-Times Media
On April 5, 1938, Judge George Marvel's evaluation was read.
The company was found guilty. Catherine was awarded $95,160; the maximum amount of money she was lawfully eligible to receive. The Radium Girls had finally won.
Settlement of Catherine Donohue. New York Times, April 6th, 1938. ProQuest