Appeals Court Upholds Verdict Against CSX

The North Carolina Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a $7.5 million verdict in favor of retired CSX Transportation railroad employee, Ray Williams.  Forest Horne and Spencer Parris of Martin & Jones represented Williams at trial and on the appeal.

Williams worked for CSX Transportation for nearly 40 years before retiring in 1999.  He was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2002.  The only proven cause of mesothelioma among workers in the United States is exposure to asbestos.

Williams filed the lawsuit against CSX Transportation because the railroad company regularly exposed him to asbestos and asbestos containing materials in their rail yards and on the railroad's engines and equipment and failed to warn him about the dangers of asbestos exposures.  A North Carolina jury returned the verdict in favor of Williams in October 2004.

Railroad workers do not receive workers compensation, and in order to recover compensation for injuries they must file a lawsuit against their railroad employer under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) and prove that the railroad's negligence caused their injuries.

The Williams' jury found that CSX Transportation was aware of the dangers of asbestos in the 1930s and further was aware of precautions that could be taken to protect railroad workers from asbestos dust, but chose not to protect or warn their employees until the late 1980s.  The Williams verdict, which CSX paid in full with interest, was reported by CSX to be the largest ever verdict against it in an asbestos case.

You can view the Williams court of appeals opinion here.

Forest and Spencer have represented many railroad workers in asbestos disease and railroad on-the-job injury claims,  including CSX workers as far north as Michigan and as far south as Florida.  Please call us today if you worked for any railroad and have questions or concerns about asbestos exposure.