Our Virginia-based FELA law firm has collected an extensive archive of documents showing that leaders in the railroad industry possessed significant knowledge about the dangers of asbestos as early as the 1920s. Doctors who were employed and consulted by rail corporations openly discussed the link between occupational exposures to asbestos and deadly diseases during annual conferences.
Written recommendations to spray water to keep down asbestos dust can be found in reports from the 1930s. This was not generally mandated until the 1970s. Similar stories on different timelines exist for reducing the use of asbestos in general, testing air quality, and safely removing asbestos from legacy equipment and buildings.
In all instances, railroad executives only acted after losing lawsuits brought by occupational illness victims or their surviving family members. Paying jury awards, rather than concerns for worker health, convinced rail corporations to improve working conditions.
It is important to understand that rail corporations were incredibly profitable and powerful until the last third of the past century. Before the completion of the U.S. interstate system and the advent of relatively affordable air travel, railroads dominated both freight transportation and business and personal travel. This position allowed railroad executives to suppress a great deal of information that cast them in a bad light.
When facing FELA lawsuits, railroads have deployed numerous tactics to deny access to the asbestos reports and recommendations. When those maneuvers stopped working, the railroads tried to convince jury members that the evidence was irrelevant. For instance, defense lawyers will argue that findings from settings other than trains or rail yards tell people nothing about risks for railroad workers. Which is completely illogical since asbestos is not safe anywhere.
Another argument defense attorneys will use is that workers only experience dangerous exposures when they manipulate or cut asbestos insulation. This completely ignores all the proof that airborne fibers come from nearly any source and that no amount of exposure is risk-free.
Unique Aspects of Asbestos Claims Against Railroads
The plaintiff in a FELA lawsuit can be anyone who worked for a railroad in any capacity. While handling cases in nearly every southern state east of the Mississippi River, our personal injury and wrongful death lawyers have represented engineers, conductors, brakemen, clerks, firemen, and trackmen.
Family members of railroad workers who develop mesothelioma due to second-hand exposure to asbestos fibers brought home on workers’ clothing do not have the right to sue under FELA. Any lawsuit brought against a railroad would be brought under common tort law.
Succeeding with a mesothelioma claim against a railroad requires proving that asbestos exposure happened on a train, in a rail yard, or some rail company facility. It can complicate, but will not defeat, a case if exposures to asbestos also occurred elsewhere.
The railroad will only be deemed to be liable if the asbestos exposure resulted from negligence. Examples of negligence include, but are in no way limited to, failing to comply with federal or state safety regulations, failing to follow industry best practices, failing to provide sufficient training and supervision, or ordering an employee to ignore rules.
Last, the plaintiff must also prove that an illness developed and became debilitating or deadly. In a case brought under FELA, the plaintiff can request monetary damages for:
- All pain, suffering, and impairment associated with the diagnosis or death caused by the railroad’s negligence or statutory violations
- Fear of impending death
- Loss of pecuniary benefits to the surviving spouse or minors who were already relying on the worker for support
- All medical expenses
- Funeral and burial expenses associated with the claim
FELA Statute of Limitations
Mesothelioma symptoms may not manifest until 20-40 years after a person breathes in asbestos fibers. This latency period does not count toward the statute of limitations for filing a FELA claim. Instead, legal action must be taken within three years of a confirmed diagnosis or the time at which symptoms became so debilitating that the person should have known they were suffering from an occupational illness.
Legal Representation
Given the complexity of FELA cases and the significant financial interests at stake, railroad workers should seek legal representation when pursuing a FELA claim. Experienced railroad accident injury /FELA lawyers can help assess the strength of a case, gather evidence, negotiate with the railroad company or its insurers, and, if necessary, represent the worker in court. Contact Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp to schedule a free consultation and find out how we can help. Our attorneys are dedicated to getting our clients and their families the financial compensation they deserve, like the $5 million wrongful death award we obtained for one client who died from asbestosis after spending 27 years working in Norfolk Southern’s car repair shop.