AMD Sued For Child’s Birth Defects

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
A new lawsuit accuses AMD of being responsible for birth defects in an Austin Texas boy. The boys mother worked in AMD's Fab 14 clean room from 1988 to 2002.

"Maria Ruiz worked with hazardous chemicals that caused her son's devastating birth defects," said Adam S. Ward, a partner in Allison & Ward, LLP, the filing attorney. The team working on behalf of the Ruiz family includes Steven Phillips of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg LLP (New York) who represented litigants in a similar case against IBM that were settled before reaching trial.
Click to expand...
 
Eh hem.

On at least two occasions during her employment, Ruiz required medical care due to inhaling chemical fumes, according to the statement.
Click to expand...

After Ruiz discovered she was pregnant inquired about the health risks from working in the clean room during her pregnancy but was returned to work in Fab 14, according to the statement.
Click to expand...

Hmm. How about you QUIT!?

Gee, I needed medical care at least twice because of these chemicals, but my doctors didn't say anything about them, so my baby will be just fine. My amniotic fluid will fight them off.


Poor kid. :(
 
GJSNeptune said:
Gee, I needed medical care at least twice because of these chemicals, but my doctors didn't say anything about them, so my baby will be just fine. My amniotic fluid will fight them off.

Poor kid. :(
Click to expand...

No doubt. However, time for a cheap shot.......

"AMD Employees, proving again that common sense isn't so common"
 
Company physicians have a built in conflict of interest. Too bad for the kid, but that was the company's fault.

IBM settled a similar suit involving several parties already.
 
GJSNeptune said:
Eh hem.





Hmm. How about you QUIT!?

Gee, I needed medical care at least twice because of these chemicals, but my doctors didn't say anything about them, so my baby will be just fine. My amniotic fluid will fight them off.


Poor kid. :(
Click to expand...

This is the fault of AMD and the woman. Yes, she should have quit. Her baby's birth defect will teach her the lesson she needs to learn (and a whole lot more). AMD must also learn their lesson. That's what this lawsuit will do.
 
GilmourD said:
You're not supposed to drink the etchant...
Click to expand...

kind of hard to drink a plasma encased in a rather tightly sealed chamber. And as for an actual liquid etchant, phosphoric acid is used to clean silicon nitride from wafers. Look at the label on your can of soda...;)

Not quite familiar with the actual chemicals, but they sound like they're used for developing the resist.

The line from the article "...was exposed to included ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate which caused the birth defects..." is, sadly, what's likely to cause a settlement. Just because there was exposure, doesn't mean there was a cause. Unfortunately, it really can't be proven either way, in this case. I've worked in a fab for the last 20 years and this is the first I've heard of where an actual defective birth was blamed on working in a fab. I've known of many women that worked around such chemicals to have had healthy babies with no issues at all.
 
They definately use some nasty stuff in the process,it's so corrosive the tanks are made of a titanium and paladium alloy.It doesn't surprise me that a big business would put profit ahead of it's worker's welfare,happens all the time.The lady did have previous indications there were problems,but with a child on the way,maybe she couldn't afford to quit and let the company doctor's assurances and the need for a paycheck overcome her common sense.
 
jcarney said:
kind of hard to drink a plasma encased in a rather tightly sealed chamber. And as for an actual liquid etchant, phosphoric acid is used to clean silicon nitride from wafers. Look at the label on your can of soda...;)

Not quite familiar with the actual chemicals, but they sound like they're used for developing the resist.

The line from the article "...was exposed to included ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate which caused the birth defects..." is, sadly, what's likely to cause a settlement. Just because there was exposure, doesn't mean there was a cause. Unfortunately, it really can't be proven either way, in this case. I've worked in a fab for the last 20 years and this is the first I've heard of where an actual defective birth was blamed on working in a fab. I've known of many women that worked around such chemicals to have had healthy babies with no issues at all.
Click to expand...

LOL Well, it was a joke, kinda.

Like you, I've never heard of anybody with this sort of complaint. I'm sure this would've come out previously since microchips have been made in clean rooms for the past 30+ years.
 
GJSNeptune said:
Eh hem.





Hmm. How about you QUIT!?

Gee, I needed medical care at least twice because of these chemicals, but my doctors didn't say anything about them, so my baby will be just fine. My amniotic fluid will fight them off.


Poor kid. :(
Click to expand...



QFT
 
michael.pa2 said:
[W]ith a child on the way,maybe she couldn't afford to quit and let the company doctor's assurances and the need for a paycheck overcome her common sense.
Click to expand...

So AMD puts profits ahead of employees, and the employees put income ahead of their children's health.

Seems logical.
 
I worked in a clean room for a major semiconductor house and as long as the they were in OSHA compliances during that time frame, there will be no fault on AMD's part.

Most clean room workers are TOLD that if they become pregnant to put in a request to work somewhere else within the division or building to ensure there are no complications during pregnancy. There is never a penality for this since it has always been a major concern for any female that works with toxic and deadly chemicals used in fab operations even under strick control guidelines.

Its her own fault, she doesn't have a leg to stand on.
 
Its really simple. AMD shouldn't allow women that are pregnant or might become pregnant to work with terratogens. My company has policies like this. I'm sure there's plenty of equivilent jobs elsewhere in the factory that don't involve exposure to substances that cause birth defects. AMD is clearly at fault if she worked with terratogens, whether it was the root cause or not, and its up to AMD to make sure it doesn't happen if they want to avoid the liability.
 
She should have requested a reposting when she discovered/decided to become pregnant. Since the didn't she is admitting guilt to child abuse...

No wait, the fetus isn't a child until it's born, so she did nothing wrong.

Wait on that AMD did nothing wrong either since the fetus is not a person until it's born...


Boy law sure is complex when you live in a country that is bi-polar...
 
kittmaster said:
I worked in a clean room for a major semiconductor house and as long as the they were in OSHA compliances during that time frame, there will be no fault on AMD's part.

Most clean room workers are TOLD that if they become pregnant to put in a request to work somewhere else within the division or building to ensure there are no complications during pregnancy. There is never a penality for this since it has always been a major concern for any female that works with toxic and deadly chemicals used in fab operations even under strick control guidelines.

Its her own fault, she doesn't have a leg to stand on.
Click to expand...


*ding ding ding* Weeeee have a winnaaa.... To the Kittmaster goes the fuzzy bear! :D :eek:

OSHA regulations are there for a reason in such fields of work as what this woman was in. If her lawyers can prove AMD wasn't up to OSHA regulations during the time frame of her employment there,(good luck) she might have a case, otherwise, she'll get laughed out of the courtroom. Sucks to be in her position! :eek:
 
1) Have child with birth defects, look around for who to blame (sue)...
2) ???
3) Profit!
 
I'm thankful for stuff like this to prevent stupid people from procreating. She made a bad decision and is looking for someone ELSE to blame for her lack of common sense. Good thing she is a woman and can use the baby as emotional muscle to power her weak case... assuming AMD bided by the regulations that previous posters mentioned, of course.
 
Why did it take 16 years to come to a suit???? Makes you wonder.

Too bad for the boy, no matter what.

The woman could have transferred to another job, one less risky. If there's paperwork to suggest AMD offred.......
 
I feel bad for AMD. Lack of employee's common sense, litigacious country...really sucks.

I mean, when you think about it...they have to pay her because if they go to court, what would the jury/judge listen to? Sound, scientific reasoning, or a poor mother who had a kid with birth defects because of big, evil corporation. :rolleyes: Gonna probably cost AMD a few million out of court.

I mean shit, I thought it was common sense that things that could possibly be bad for you or your child you're carrying probably are. Terratogens are no fucking joke...
 
If you try to say AMD shouldn't "allow" women who are pregnant to work in a specific job, you'll get your ass handed to you and told to make it safe for them to work in.
 
Maybe she'll have quadruplets, and one of them dies, and she only has a triplet child??? :p

Sorta like AMD's tri-core their putting out.
 
GilmourD said:
You're not supposed to drink the etchant...
Click to expand...

HF is colorless, orderless, is supposed to PH test as water and is some pretty nasty stuff.

I don't get it.

How did she not know what she was working with?

I'm a microE student and practically the first thing you have to do is take a safety test

http://smfl.microe.rit.edu/pdf/safety_manual.pdf (if you care)

and you'd think that in industry, they'd be a lot more anal.

She breathed stuff in? Clean rooms are supposed to be designed so that the contaminated air gets sucked out. At the RIT fab, they have chemical sensors that detect toxic gases, and chemical mixing is done under a fume hood.

I don't know if it's the same way in industry, bud you'd think that they'd have more money to invest on safety.
 
I don't think you can blame this woman at all if she wasn't intentionally negligent in exposing herself to said chemicals. She shouldn't have to quit her job because she is being exposed to dangerous checmicals on a daily basis; if she is doing nothing wrong. Also how many of you who are so quick to say just Quit have paid for a full pregnancy and associated hospital care with cash or out of your own pocket with no health insurance??? It would be unaffordable, so quitting your job and losing your healthcare is not an option to a lot of people especially in America where our healthcare system is joke to begin with.
 
Good point. Almost as if some of you who never works before. When you work to put food on the table and paying the rent or mortgage, you don't just quit. You don't just quit because you don't like your job.

ferrisnox said:
I don't think you can blame this woman at all if she wasn't intentionally negligent in exposing herself to said chemicals. She shouldn't have to quit her job because she is being exposed to dangerous checmicals on a daily basis; if she is doing nothing wrong. Also how many of you who are so quick to say just Quit have paid for a full pregnancy and associated hospital care with cash or out of your own pocket with no health insurance??? It would be unaffordable, so quitting your job and losing your healthcare is not an option to a lot of people especially in America where our healthcare system is joke to begin with.
Click to expand...
 
ferrisnox said:
so quitting your job and losing your healthcare is not an option to a lot of people especially in America where our healthcare system is joke to begin with.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? Did you read about what birth defects her son has?
 
Well, if you are very industrious, sometimes your work can consume your life. Besides, she worked from the late 80s to 2002. People have different priorities back then.

GJSNeptune said:
Are you kidding me? Did you read about what birth defects her son has?
Click to expand...
 
So the moment she knew she was pregnant, her job was still more important than giving birth to a healthy baby? I mean, you're staring at the pregnancy test or listening to the doctor. I'm not a girl, but I can't imagine maternal instincts not sounding an alarm.

My job involves hazardous chemicals. I'm pregnant. DING DING DING?


No reason she couldn't have quit her job and found a new one, better or worse, or requested a different position as soon as she knew she was pregnant. I suppose you've got a margin of error equal to her exposure before conception plus the time before she learned she was pregnant. After that it's her fault.

I'm not discounting AMD. While finances could have "forced" her to stay, I find it almost amusing that the chemicals sent her to the hospital at least twice and she still thought it was okay to return. Furthermore, AMD should've found some compassion and tried to reassign her.

Ultimately, I hope she gets a reasonable amount of money, but not enough to really sink AMD.
 
GJSNeptune said:
So the moment she knew she was pregnant, her job was still more important than giving birth to a healthy baby? I mean, you're staring at the pregnancy test or listening to the doctor. I'm not a girl, but I can't imagine maternal instincts not sounding an alarm.

My job involves hazardous chemicals. I'm pregnant. DING DING DING?
Click to expand...
Yeah, she should have asked or something, right? And what if they told her there was no problem and were completely wrong?
some people read the articles said:
After Ruiz discovered she was pregnant inquired about the health risks from working in the clean room during her pregnancy but was returned to work in Fab 14, according to the statement. Ryan Ruiz suffered multiple birth defects, including a missing right arm below his elbow, brain injury and cognitive deficits.
Click to expand...
 
There seem to a be a lot of assumptions here...

We have no idea whether or not she asked to be reassigned.
We have no idea whether or not she knew should could ask to be reassigned, or if AMD offered to reassign her.

We don't even really know what the doctor told her. It is entirely possible that the doctor told her to get out of there, no matter how, and stay out. It is also entirely possible that the doctor told her that there was no risk to her or to the child, and so to simply continue working.

Until those questions are answered, I don't see how anyone can come to any conclusions about who is at fault here.
 
Neuffy said:
There seem to a be a lot of assumptions here...

We have no idea whether or not she asked to be reassigned.
We have no idea whether or not she knew should could ask to be reassigned, or if AMD offered to reassign her.

We don't even really know what the doctor told her. It is entirely possible that the doctor told her to get out of there, no matter how, and stay out. It is also entirely possible that the doctor told her that there was no risk to her or to the child, and so to simply continue working.

Until those questions are answered, I don't see how anyone can come to any conclusions about who is at fault here.
Click to expand...

Good call. Steve, please delete the thread and never post the news again.
 
AMD needs to learn a lesson & the Mother needs to learn about personal responsibility.
 
GJSNeptune said:
Good call. Steve, please delete the thread and never post the news again.
Click to expand...

Mm..I _think_ that's sarcasm. Is it? I any case, I didn't mean the news. I just meant a good number of the posts.

My sarcasm detector really is broken. I'm diagnosed, and everything.
 
Neuffy said:
Mm..I _think_ that's sarcasm. Is it? I any case, I didn't mean the news. I just meant a good number of the posts.

My sarcasm detector really is broken. I'm diagnosed, and everything.
Click to expand...

What did you expect us to say? How do we not speculate when we discuss an event we don't know much about? Speculation usually only causes problems, but what else is there to do? Takes sides and high-five?
 
GJSNeptune said:
What did you expect us to say? How do we not speculate when we discuss an event we don't know much about? Speculation usually only causes problems, but what else is there to do? Takes sides and high-five?
Click to expand...

Oh, speculation's fine. It just seems that people are making statements of blame, rather than merely speculating.
 
Completely, 100%, undoubtedly, the responsibility of the "mother."

Anyone who has ever worked in a cleanroom knows you don't want to be anywhere NEAR any of that shit MONTHS before you even THINK about get pregnant.

Fucking morons should not be allowed to breed. End of story. Lesson learned for "mommy" I guess.

Woman needs to take some fucking personal responsibility.
 
mwarps said:
Completely, 100%, undoubtedly, the responsibility of the "mother."

Fucking morons should not be allowed to breed. I guess.
Click to expand...


Both of my were conceived after I received fairly hefty tritium uptakes, wasn't their mothers' fault. (I've worked at several Canadian nuke plants over the last 25 years). One went to university, the other only went to college. Should I be sueing my employers because only one of my kids went to university?

I know a couple who have had nothing but problems conceiving and eventuly kids. The children they do have, have all sorts of problems: Rhetts syndrome (Ithink that's what it is), Downs syndrome, and they lost another to SIDS. Neither of them have had occupational exposures to nasty chemicals, or have a family history of any of these problems. They could be just genetically incompatible.

As for morons not being allowed to breed,,, we need a general population, don't we?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top