Railroad Lawsuit - Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Railroad workers are exposed to various carcinogenic substances, including diesel exhaust fumes. It can trigger a variety of illnesses that include non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
A lawyer for cancer of the railroad can help you determine if your illness is related to exposure to work, and also seek reimbursement for medical expenses as well as pain and discomfort.
Benzene
Benzene is a well-known chemical compound found throughout the world. It is a transparent, light yellow liquid with a pleasant odor that evaporates quickly into the atmosphere. It is used in degreasers, dyes and solvents, pesticides, plastics, lubricants and resins. It also occurs naturally in crude oil. Long-term exposure to benzene can harm the bone marrow and cause leukemia and other blood-related tumors. It can also cause convulsions, heartbeat changes and liver disease, and reduce fertility in a person.
The exposure of railroad workers can increase the risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as well as other cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic disorder. This is especially applicable to those who worked near locomotives or in the railroad shop where they could have been exposed to diesel exhaust. Those who were exposed to coal tar creosote, a wood preservative, may be exposed to benzene as well.
The personal representative of the BNSF employee who died of leukemia filed 27 lawsuits, including eight in 2018. The plaintiff's work history with the railroad company spanned back several decades. She was hostler in a yard in Alliance, Nebraska for 33 years. She was exposed to diesel exhaust and other toxic chemicals while working on cars, locomotives and rail ties. She also dealt with benzene-based chemicals like Liquid Wrench as an oil-based solvent for breaking bolts.
Glyphosate
Glyphosate is one of the most commonly used herbicides used by railroad workers to kill weeds and other plants along the tracks and around train stations. However, exposure to this chemical is risky and could cause non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, as well as other serious health problems. If you've been exposed to the chemical glyphosate and later developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a railroad accident lawyer can help you get compensation from the company that harmed you.
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. The chemical works by targeting a protein in plants called shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS). This blocks EPSPS from generating its own natural product which is a building block for proteins. The glyphosate is then bound to the EPSPS and destroys its structure. It also stops EPSPS from executing its normal function, which could cause cell death.
In the short-term, glyphosate may have negative effects such as nausea vomiting, diarrhea, eye irritation, and skin irritation. In extreme cases exposure to glyphosate might cause death. The herbicide is extensively used on a broad range of crops including corn, soybeans and grains. Rainwater and surface runoff may also contain glyphosate. Due to its widespread use, trace quantities of glyphosate are often consumed by consumers.
Asbestos
Railroad workers are exposed many dangerous substances, including diesel fumes, benzene, asbestos, coal dust silica and creosote. Carcinogens like these can cause cancer, lung disease and other health issues. Federal law gives retired, former and current rail workers the right make a claim against their employers if they are diagnosed with a medical condition caused by their work-related exposures.
Asbestos played a major role in the railroad industry for years and many railroad workers suffered from exposure to this dangerous material. An asbestos exposure attorney from the railroad could examine your medical and work records to determine if you contracted mesothelioma, or another illness due to on-the-job asbestos exposure.
A train conductor has filed a lawsuit in the United America against Norfolk Southern for Hodgkin's lymphoma. He claims that the company failed to protect his health from toxic chemicals. The lawsuit asserts that the railroad company did not follow FELA safety regulations by failing to eliminate asbestos and other harmful materials, as well as not ensuring that workers are exposed to harmful chemicals.
The lawsuit asserts that the work of a train conductor involved operating and directing railroad machinery. The lawsuit further claims that railroads used weedkillers to maintain right-of-way spaces that exposed workers to glyphosate - a toxic herbicide that is known to cause non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and other illnesses. A jury handed the plaintiff a million dollars in damages for compensation.
Second-Hand Smoke
Several railroad workers have been diagnosed as having cancer and other chronic illnesses because of the harmful chemicals they were exposed to every day. railroad lawsuits who suffer from cancer or other diseases because of their exposure to carcinogenic substances may file lawsuits under FELA against their former employers.
For instance one man from Pennsylvania who worked as a railroad worker filed an action against his former employer alleging that he developed kidney cancer as a result of being exposed to carcinogens for nearly 40 years. He claimed he was often exposed to vinylchloride, asbestos, and other harmful substances while working for various railroads in the Philadelphia region.
Another railroad worker filed a lawsuit alleging that his position as a railroad worker was a contributing factor to lung cancer and other serious illnesses. He worked for CSX Transportation, Inc. for 20 years as a laborer. During this time, he was exposed to toxins such as diesel exhaust and secondhand smoke. He also handled railroad ties that were coated with the chemical known as Creosote.
Even though the dangers of secondhand smoke were widely known for years, some railroads were slow to adopt smoking bans in locomotive cabs. Smoking secondhand has been linked to a variety of illnesses and cancers, like asthma and bronchitis.