Our toxic exposure lawyers have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of injured workers in several industries, including the railroad industry. Many former workers at rail stations, rail yards, maintenance facilities, roundhouses and other installations have been regularly exposed to diesel exhaust, welding fumes, benzene, creosote, silica, and asbestos.
The railroad companies that hired thousands of Americans were responsible for maintaining a safe work environment, and yet many reports suggest they failed to properly educate staff about the health hazards related to certain materials on work sites. Some rail companies, including Southern Pacific, have been sued for a failure to warn workers about the possibility of toxic exposure and particularly before the 1980s, for a failure to provide safety equipment.
As a result, many workers later developed certain cancers that have been definitively linked to diesel fumes, asbestos, solvents, fuels, silica, and creosote. Even a small amount of toxic exposure can do harm, and when you add up all the years of employment for some workers, it comes as no surprise that occupational cancer cases are relatively common.
What Can a Railroad Cancer Lawsuit Recover?
Each work injury case is unique, and our legal team will need to review your complete work history along with a medical record to determine what damages and losses you can attempt to recover in a railroad cancer claim. In the past, employees who fell ill due to toxic exposure at the workplace have filed suit to recover the following:
- Hospital and health care expenses
- Future medical bills, including medication, treatment and rehab costs
- Long-term disability
- Lost wages and lost future earnings
- Reduced quality of life
- Pain and suffering and emotional distress
- Wrongful Death and loss of companionship
Because of the complexity of these cases, it’s critical to hire an attorney who has proven success in similar cases and has decades of experience handling work injury claims.
About Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated in large parts of the West. The rail network system has a long history and operated under numerous names. The Southern Pacific Transportation Company was acquired in 1996 by the Union Pacific Corporation and merged with the Union Pacific Railroad.
By the 1980s, the company struggled to keep up and route mileage had dropped considerably. In 1988, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (including its subsidiary, St. Louis Southwestern Railway) was taken over by Rio Grande Industries. By 1996, the financial problems had worsened and led Southern Pacific to be taken over by the Union Pacific Corporation.
