$7.5 Million FELA Verdict for Railroad Worker Who Developed Mesothelioma After 37 Years of Asbestos Exposure

Raymond Williams spent 37 years working for CSX Transportation and its predecessor railroad, from 1962 until his retirement in 1999. During that time he was regularly exposed to asbestos dust stirred up by craftsmen working with insulation and other asbestos-containing materials throughout the facilities where he worked.

Two years after retiring, Williams was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma at age 59. The disease required surgeons to remove his entire left lung. A subsequent surgery removed part of his stomach as well. Three courses of chemotherapy followed, but by the time the case reached trial, his prognosis was fatal.

Attorney Forest Horne of Jones Martin Parris and Tessener Law Offices brought the claim under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, which holds railroads to a duty of reasonable care for their workers. The theory at trial was straightforward: CSX had been a member of the Association of American Railroads since at least 1937, and internal AAR documents showed the railroad industry knew by that year that asbestos generated toxic dust capable of causing serious lung disease. Despite that knowledge, CSX failed to reduce asbestos hazards in its facilities or warn employees like Williams of the risk.

The jury found CSX negligent, concluded that negligence caused Williams' mesothelioma, and returned a verdict of $7,500,000. CSX appealed, raising 26 separate assignments of error covering the sufficiency of the evidence, the trial court's evidentiary rulings, and the size of the award.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals rejected every argument in a March 2006 opinion. The court found the evidence sufficient to support the jury's finding that CSX knew asbestos dust posed a hazard to lung health and failed to act on that knowledge. On the damages question, the trial court had already found the amount 'justified by the evidence,' and the appellate court saw no basis to disturb that conclusion. The full $7.5 million verdict was affirmed without reduction.