The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women

The women meet the “flamboyant” and “larger-than-life” (398) Leonard Grossman in his luxurious Chicago office. His main concern is for the poor, and he was not concerned about making money from representing the women.

During the well-attended hearing, Grossman requests an extension to familiarize himself with the case, and learns about company’s defense. They will argue that the paint is not a poison, which was the opposite from what they had argued in previous cases when poisons were not covered under the law.

Work begins feverishly on the case. The women try to get copies of their medical records, but hospitals refuse to release them. In December, Grossman served notice to Radium Dial to release the results of their medical tests.

Catherine becomes fully confined to her bed, and is wasting away. She is to be the lead litigant—only because she is believed to be the next one to die.

On February 10, 1938, Tom Donohue carries his wife to the hearing. Although only Radium Dial lawyer Arthur Magid is there, the Radium Dial executives do not attend. The press is present, and later writes of the women’s weakness and poor conditions.

Catherine Donohue testifies, describing the practice of lip-pointing, the full-page advert that had run in the paper after the New Jersey suits had been settled, and Reed’s refusal to show the women the results of their tests.