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What illnesses are associated with asbestos exposure?


Over the last 100 years, railroad workers here in Connecticut and across the country have worked around asbestos. Brakes, pipes and boilers are just some of the equipment insulated with asbestos in the railroad industry. Railcars used to be full of the toxic substance to insulate against heat and electrical components.

This means that railroad workers commonly contract illnesses associated with asbestos dust and fibers. The exposure could take place decades before symptoms manifest. You may already know about an asbestos-related cancer called mesothelioma, but that isn’t the only disease associated with the substance. Each illness has serious health ramifications for their sufferers.

Asbestosis

Deeply inhaling asbestos fibers could lead to asbestosis from a high level of exposure to asbestos. The scarring of the respiratory bronchioles (fibrosis) in the lungs characterizes this condition. The fibrosis can progress long after your exposure to asbestos stops. More than likely, your doctor may suspect this condition if you complain of not being able to take full breaths and your gas exchanges decline.

You may not exhibit symptoms or receive a diagnosis until 20 to 40 years after your exposure. Many people who contract asbestosis end up with asbestos-related lung cancer or mesothelioma.

Asbestos-related pleural abnormalities

Frequently suffering from a build-up of fluid around your lungs (pleural effusion) indicates that you could suffer from this malady. Even low levels of exposure can result in pleural effusions. You may also suffer from pleural thickening, folded lung or pleural plaques. Moderate to high levels of exposure can lead to this condition. Approximately 50 percent of those exposed to asbestos end up with this condition.

This condition can lay dormant in your body anywhere between 15 and 30 years. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be fatal but can lead to other asbestos-related diseases.

Lung cancer

Approximately four to 12 percent of all cases of lung cancer result from exposure to asbestos. However, lung cancer tends to be higher in workers exposed to asbestos who also smoked tobacco products. The amount of your exposure to asbestos and the length of time in years helps clinicians determine whether asbestos exposure contributed to lung cancer.

Compensation

Whether your doctor diagnoses you with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness, you may receive compensation through either the Federal Employers Liability Act or the Federal Railway Safety Act. Filing claims under these acts could provide you with the funds you need to cover your medical expenses and other damages you suffered due to your occupational exposure to asbestos.

  • $10.8 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Conductor wrongful death case. (Avery v. Metro-North RR).
  • $8 Million settlement for an Amtrak Trackman who sustained a crushed leg. (Cevasco v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.).
  • $7 Million settlement for a Metro-North Foreman whose legs were amputated. (Renert v. Metro-North RR).
  • $5.8 Million settlement for an Amtrak Conductor who sustained a head injury. (Fitzpatrick v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.).
  • $5.5 Million settlement for a Metro-North Machinist wrongful death case. (Pieger v. Metro-North RR).
  • $4.3 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Conductor wrongful death case. (Ard v. Metro-North RR)
  • $2.57 Million Verdict for an Amtrak Conductor who sustained a back injury. (Pace v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.).
  • $2.5 Million Settlement for a Metro-North employee who sustained a serious head injury.
  • Settled for a Confidential Sum for a Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company Trackman wrongful death case. (Macaulay v. Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company.)
  • $6.250 Million Verdict in 2023 which was later reduced to $2.1 Million for a Metro-North Structural Welder/Ironworker who sustained head and neck injuries and has returned to work. (Torres v. Metro-North RR).
  • $2 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Lineman who sustained an electrical burn (Curly v. Metro-North RR).
  • $2 Million Settlement in 2020 for a Providence & Worcester Railroad Company Conductor who sustained a serious head injury and returned to work for another RR as an Engineer. (Scarpa v. Providence & Worcester Railroad Company.)
  • $2 Million Settlement for a Metro-North Conductor who sustained a fractured leg.
    Settled for a Confidential Sum in 2019 an Amtrak Lineman involving an electrocution causing a permanent occupational disability. (Anderson v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.).
  • $1.85 Million Verdict for an Amtrak Ticket Agent who was assaulted. (Schneider v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.)
  • Compensatory and punitive damages Verdicts and subsequently settled for $1.8 Million in 2023 for a Metro-North
  • Conductor who suffered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Moran v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority).
  • $1.69 Million Settlement for an Amtrak Supervisor who was shot by an employee. (Cornelius v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.)
  • $1.65 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Lineman who sustained foot and ankle injuries. (Keating v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1.65 Million Verdict for a Metro-North TA Employee who sustained an Open Tibia Fracture to his left leg. (Rivera v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1.54 Million Verdict for an Amtrak General Foreman who sustained a herniated disc in his lower back. (Brady v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation).
  • $1.45 Million Verdict for a Construction Worker who sustained a left hip injury. (Quintiliani v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation).
  • $1.42 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Machinist who sustained a fractured rib and a herniated disc. (Hall v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1.4 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Mechanical Gang Foreman who sustained burns from an explosion of steam on an engine. (Berry v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1.4 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Carpenter Foreman who sustained a back injury. (Kendall v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1.3 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Signal Trainee Maintainer who sustained a back injury from a slip and fall. (Moran v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1.2 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Signal Maintainer who sustained a back injury and post-concussion syndrome. (Manes v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1.2 Million Verdict for a Metro-North Trackman who sustained crushed legs. (Murillo v. Metro-North RR).
  • $1 Million Settlement for a Metro-North Trackman who sustained burns from pot welding and subsequently returned to work. (Burke v. Metro-North RR).

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