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Grace Fryer
Radium Dial Painter and Plaintiff
Lead plaintiff in the landmark 1927 lawsuit against U.S. Radium Corporation that established occupational disease liability in American law
Overview
Grace Fryer (1899-1933) was an American factory worker who, as a teenager, was employed by the U.S. Radium Corporation to paint watch dials with radium-based luminous paint. Instructed to lip-point her brush, she ingested lethal quantities of radium over the course of her employment. When she and her coworkers began dying of radiation poisoning, with jawbones crumbling and bones breaking, Fryer spent two years searching for an attorney willing to sue U.S. Radium. She became the lead plaintiff of the "Radium Girls" lawsuit, one of the most important occupational safety cases in American legal history. The case, settled in 1928, established the legal precedent that employers are liable for occupational diseases. Fryer died of radiation poisoning on November 27, 1933, at age 34.
Key Affiliations
Controversies & Concerns
Employer instructed her and coworkers to lip-point radium-laden paintbrushes while executives used lead screens to protect themselves
Company hired fraudulent medical consultants who diagnosed dying workers with syphilis to discredit their claims
Spent two years unable to find an attorney willing to take the case against U.S. Radium
Received only $10,000 plus $600/year pension and medical expenses in the 1928 settlement; died five years later at age 34
Related Investigations (1)
Known Associates & Connections
Raymond Berry
Attorney who agreed to represent the Radium Girls after multiple other lawyers refused the case
Harrison Martland
Essex County medical examiner who established the scientific link between radium exposure and the workers diseases in 1925
Sources & Documentation
1 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Personal Information
- Born
- 1899-02-19
- Birthplace
- Orange, New Jersey
Education
- •Local schools in Orange, New Jersey
Key Timeline
1917
Begins work as a dial painter at U.S. Radium Corporation in Orange, New Jersey
1925
Begins experiencing symptoms of radiation poisoning including jaw deterioration and bone pain
1927
Files landmark lawsuit as lead plaintiff with four other workers against U.S. Radium Corporation
1928-06
Case settled: each plaintiff receives $10,000 plus $600 annual pension and medical expenses
1933-11-27
Dies of radiation poisoning at age 34; her legal battle established the precedent for occupational disease liability