Asbestos News Roundup: 12.6.12 – Railroad Asbestos Exposure

December 6th, 2012. By LucyC

This week’s asbestos news roundup includes all the recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Retired Railwaymen Dying from Asbestos Disease

Many retired railway men are finding that the years they spent working in railway yards and on trains has caused them to become ill with asbestos-related illnesses. And their illnesses could have been prevented if they had been made aware of the dangers and provided with proper protective gear.

Asbestos was used to insulate steam and diesel locomotives, boxcars, cabooses and pipes. It was also used in brakes and floor tiles of passenger cars. When workers were tasked with removing the asbestos, and were not wearing protective clothing, the airborne asbestos fibers became lodged in their clothes and worse, in their lungs. As this practice went on over time—years in many cases—the accumulation of the asbestos fibers in their lungs led to fatal asbestos mesothelioma.

Asbestos Lawsuits

St. Clair County, IL: BNSF Railway Co, is facing a federal asbestos lawsuit filed by four former railroad workers who allege they developed asbestos-related respiratory problems as a result of the company’s alleged negligence.

In their asbestos lawsuit, Wavie Cole, Francisco Ruiz, Carl Canada and Cleophas Eckford are seeking $10 million in compensation from their former employer — $2.5 million each.

Each of the four men claim their duties for BNSF exposed them “to toxic substances including asbestos, diesel exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, welding fumes, silica, and other toxic dusts, gases and fumes which caused him to suffer permanent injuries to his lungs in the nature of asbestosis and other respiratory disease.” The lawsuit states that Cole was employed by BNSF from 1977 to 2010, Ruiz from 1974 and 2009, Canada from 1973 to 2006 and Eckford from 1972 and 1999. Cole was a pipefitter while the other three men were employed in the “carman craft.” Canada also worked as a laborer and electrician.

In their asbestos complaint, the former railway men claim that the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) governs their claims because their employment duties “were in furtherance of and did closely, directly and substantially affect interstate commerce,” which BNSF engaged in as “a common carrier by rail.”

The complaint includes four FELA counts — one for each plaintiff – and asserts that BNSF failed to provide the men with a reasonably safe work place or warn them of the hazardous nature of asbestos and other toxic substances.

Additionally, the asbestos lawsuit alleges the railroad company failed to inspect equipment in order to determine if there was contamination, and to take adequate steps to reduce employees’ exposure to toxic substances.

The lawsuit claims that the men’s asbestosis and other respiratory diseases are a direct result of BNSF’s negligence, which caused “in whole or in part” the plaintiffs to develop these illnesses.

As a result of their asbestos-related illnesses, each of the four men claim they have “suffered and will continue to suffer great pain and disability, genuine and serious mental anguish and extreme nervousness as a result of his reasonable concern over the prospects of developing cancer caused by his exposure to asbestos, diesel exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, welding fumes, silica and other toxic dusts, gases and fumes.”

Further, the retired railway men claim they have and will continue to incur “great expense in endeavoring to be cured” of their illnesses and diseases and have “lost and will continue to lose large amounts of income because of” the disabilities of their respiratory problems.(madisonrecord.com)

St. Clair County, IL: Teresa Halter filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 25 defendant corporations, which she alleges, are responsible for her late husband, John Halter, to develop asbestos-related lung cancer.

In her asbestos lawsuit, Mrs. Halter claims her John Halter was exposed to asbestos-containing products throughout his career as an auto mechanic in the Detroit area from 1971 until 1974 and as a boiler tender in the US Navy from 1974 until 1978.

Mrs. Halter alleges the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for her husband’s safety.

As a result of his asbestos-related disease, John Halter incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the complaint says. In addition, he became prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued to him, his widow claims. (madisonrecord.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos law, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma

This was posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2012 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Asbestos Mesothelioma . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.