Railroad work exposes employees to hazards that take years, sometimes decades, to reveal their damage. Among the most serious are the toxic fumes that workers breathe day after day on the job. Welders on the railroad have developed permanent lung diseases, cancers, and lasting neurological and memory disorders from long-term inhalation of the harmful particulates in welding smoke. These are not minor occupational annoyances. They are life-altering and, in many cases, life-ending conditions. As FELA attorneys handling these claims, our firm carefully investigates each claim and brings in top professionals in the relevant fields to determine whether the toxic fume exposure caused the cancer or disease at issue.
Understanding what these fumes do to the body, and what the law allows, is the first step toward accountability.
The Dangers Hidden in Welding Fumes
Welding fumes are a complex mixture of metallic particulates, and several of the substances in that mixture are known to cause serious harm. Manganese is one well-documented example. It is a recognized cause of neurological injury, and prolonged exposure has been linked to Parkinson’s-like symptoms and memory problems. Other constituents of welding smoke are known carcinogens.
The scientific consensus has only strengthened over time. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified welding fumes as a Group 1 carcinogen in 2017, meaning there is sufficient evidence that they cause cancer in humans. For a railroad welder who spent years bent over the rail breathing that smoke, the implications are sobering. A cancer or neurological condition that appears long after the exposure may trace directly back to the job.
Diesel Exhaust and the Rail Workforce
Welders are not the only railroad employees at risk. A growing body of evidence connects long-term exposure to diesel exhaust with serious respiratory illness among railroad workers, including a condition sometimes called diesel asthma, a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Additional research shows elevated rates of lung cancer among rail employees who spent careers around diesel-powered locomotives.
Diesel exhaust, also called diesel smoke or diesel fumes, is not a single substance. It is a chemical stew containing hundreds of compounds, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and benzene, among many others. Many of these components have been recognized as cancer-causing agents for well over 30 years. The authoritative judgment came in 2012, when IARC classified diesel engine exhaust as a Group 1 human carcinogen, concluding that exposure causes lung cancer in humans. Older rail yard locomotives, often operated with cab windows open because they lacked air conditioning, exposed generations of engineers and conductors to this exact hazard.
How FELA Protects Sick Railroad Workers
Railroad worker injury and illness claims against employer railroads fall under a federal law called the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, or FELA. Unlike state workers’ compensation systems, FELA is a fault-based law. It allows a railroad worker, or the family of a worker who has died, to recover full damages when the railroad’s negligence played any part in causing the harm.
That framework applies to occupational disease claims, but these cases are difficult to prove. A worker generally must establish several things:
- That the illness is the kind of condition toxic fume exposure can cause
- That the worker was actually exposed to the harmful substance on the job
- That the railroad knew or should have known of the danger and failed to take reasonable steps to reduce it
- That the exposure, at least in part, caused the worker’s disease
Meeting that burden takes more than a diagnosis. It requires industrial hygienists who can reconstruct the workplace conditions, medical professionals who can link the exposure to the specific disease, and a thorough understanding of what railroads knew about these hazards and when. A seasoned FELA attorney assembles that proof and anticipates the defenses railroads reliably raise, such as blaming a worker’s smoking history or claiming the exposure cannot be documented.
Why Experience Matters in These Claims
Railroads fight occupational disease cases hard, because a single successful claim can open the door to many others. They routinely make lowball offers, dispute causation, and try to wait out sick workers and grieving families. Standing up to that requires resources and a track record.
Our attorneys bring more than 100 years of combined legal experience to these cases. That experience has produced significant results in toxic exposure claims. In one FELA case, we obtained an $11 million award for the estate of a CSX switchman who died of lung cancer after roughly 40 years of on-the-job toxic exposure, a case we fought through multiple appeals. Results depend on the specific facts of each case, but outcomes like that reflect the effort these claims demand.
Sickened by Railroad Fumes? Contact Us Today
If you or a loved one developed cancer, lung disease, or a neurological condition after years of exposure to welding fumes, diesel exhaust, or other toxic substances on the railroad, a FELA attorney at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can review your circumstances, gather the medical and workplace evidence, and pursue the compensation you deserve. Contact us at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation. We have offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Norfolk, and Chesapeake, and we are ready to put our railroad injury experience to work for you and your family.