Posts Tagged ‘ Railway Workers ’

Asbestos News Roundup: 3.29.12 (Spotlight: Asbestos and Railway Workers)

March 30th, 2012. By LucyC

A roundup of 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.

Asbestos Workers at Risk

Railway workers…. Every week new asbestos lawsuits are filed, many of them by retired railway workers or their widows. Case-in-point—the lawsuit below filed by the widow of a retired BNSF railway man, who died from asbestos-related lung disease.

Asbestos exposure was a constant danger for people working on or around the railways in the US. Because of its insulating properties, asbestos was used to insulate steam and diesel locomotives, boxcars and cabooses, refrigeration units, pipes, and pipes, steam and hot water lines. Asbestos was also widely used in railroad brakes and clutch linings, gaskets, and in heavy-wearing floor tiles for passenger cars. And, during locomotive inspections it was not uncommon to have asbestos insulation stripped off the boilers, which would send asbestos fibers into the air and onto people’s clothing, affecting everyone in the vicinity—as well as family members at home.

Railway Worker’s Widow Sues BNSF

St. Clair County, IL: The wife of a recently deceased railroad worker, Anthony Ianno, filed an asbestos lawsuit recently against her husband’s former employer, BNSF Railway Company. In her lawsuit, Norina M. Ianno claims the railway company contributed to her husband’s death by exposing him to asbestos fibers throughout his employment with them.

Mrs. Ianno claims her husband developed asbestosis, lung cancer and another unspecified lung disease after he was exposed to asbestos fibers through his employment as a dock foreman and clerk from 1954 until 1986 for BNSF Railway Company. In addition to asbestos fibers, Mrs Ianno alleges her husand was also exposed to diesel exhaust, tobacco smoke, silica and other toxic gases, which also contributed to his disease.

Norina blames BNSF for causing her husband’s disease because, she says, the railroad negligently failed to provide Anthony Ianno with safe work, failed to provide him with equipment to protect him from asbestos fibers, exposed him to asbestos, failed to warn him of the hazards associated with asbestos and agreed to conceal the hazards of asbestos exposure.

Because of Anthony Ianno’s respiratory illness, he endured great pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement and mental anguish and lost his enjoyment of life, the suit states. He also incurred medical costs, the lawsuit states.

And, Mrs. Ianno claims that following her husband’s death on March 6, 2009, she lost his financial support. Consequently, she is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, plus costs. (Madisonrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

St. Clair, IL: The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled against CSX Transportation and in favor of the family of Annette Simpkins of Granite City, IL, who died of asbestos-related cancer after her husband brought the toxic dust home on his clothing from the railroad. The ruling yesterday returns the case to Madison County, IL, for trial after a majority of Supreme Court justices found that an employer has an obligation to warn workers and their families about the dangers linked to take-home asbestos exposure.

According to the complaint in Simpkins, et al. v. CSX Transportation, Mr. Simpkins brought asbestos dust home on his clothes in the 1960s while working for CSX Transportation, formerly B&O Railroad. Mrs. Simpkins was exposed while Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Railway Workers, Take Home Asbestos
Posted in Asbestos Mesothelioma, lawsuits, Personal Injury, Settlement | 1 Comment »