Asbestosis is scarring of the lungs caused by breathing asbestos. Asbestosis is incurable and may worsen over time.
Cancer of various types is also caused by asbestos exposure, including lung cancer, cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen (mesothelioma) and some gastrointestinal cancers.
- The railroad doctors further suggested five methods of
prevention:
- Educate the workers;
- Get rid of the dust;
- Sprinkle the work area with water;
- Have the workers wear respirators;
- Frequently test the dust content of the air during working hours.
NARVRE Asbestos Alert
RAILROAD WORKERS AND ASBESTOS
Q1: What is asbestos and how was it used on the railroad?
Asbestos is a mineral that can cause many diseases, including cancer. It was used in insulation materials (lagging) during the steam era and into the diesel era. Steam engine boilers, fireboxes and pipes were insulated with asbestos. In addition, asbestos was used in various other products including pipe coverings, wallboard, cement, gaskets, cloth, packing and rope.
Q2: Why should I be concerned about exposure to asbestos?
Breathing asbestos dust can cause several serious diseases:
Q3: What can I do to find out if I have an asbestos-caused disease?
Call the Asbestos Program Coordinator at 1 (800) 793-4816 and participate in the screening that is being provided at
Q4: What railroad workers were exposed to asbestos?
Anyone who worked around steam locomotives or in roundhouses, backshops, carshops and other repair facilities was probably exposed to asbestos. When asbestos insulation is disturbed, it produces both visible and invisible dust particles and fibers, which are inhaled by those working nearby. The worker need not have personally touched or worked with the asbestos to breathe contaminated air.
Asbestos-caused diseases are not confined to any particular job titles or descriptions. If you worked in the shops or roundhouses, or worked on the crew of a steam locomotive, you were probably exposed to asbestos, even if you could not see it in the air.
Q5: Did the major railroads know about asbestos disease and how to prevent it?
Yes. Evidence has been discovered that shows that the railroad doctors knew about asbestos-caused disease and its prevention in the 1930's.
In 1935, the railroad doctors wrote in the minutes of the annual meeting of the Medical Section of the Association of American Railroads:
"...we as railroad surgeons are undoubtedly more interested in silicosis and asbestosis than the other types [of dust-caused diseases]..."
Unfortunately, these recommendations were rarely, if ever, carried out and railroad workers were indiscriminately exposed to deadly asbestos dust and fibers throughout the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's.
Furthermore, the railroad claims agents knew about the dangers of asbestos exposure to railroad workers in the 1930's. In 1937, the Railway Claims Agents' organization, in a discussion about occupational dust diseases in railroad workers, was told, "We have also to deal with...asbestosis."
This evidence clearly establishes that the major railroads knew about asbestos-caused disease, its prevention and that claims would result from continuing to expose their workers to asbestos.
Q6: What did the major railroads actually do to protect their employees from asbestos exposure?
Little or nothing. In fact, although it was common knowledge in the railroad industry that exposure to asbestos could result in injury to its employees, few if any major railroads implemented a comprehensive program to prevent asbestos disease in its employees.
Q7: If the railroad had implemented its doctors' recommendations, could asbestos disease in railroad workers have been prevented?
Yes. Many railroad workers' health could have been protected and, in some cases, their lives could have been saved. The methods of prevention of asbestos disease that were suggested by the railroad doctors in 1935 are the recognized methods of prevention today.
Q8: Did the manufacturers of asbestos products also know about the dangers of asbestos?
Yes. The manufacturers that supplied the asbestos products to the railroad were also aware as early as the 1930's of the health hazards to workers from exposure to their products.
Q9: My family doctor has never made a diagnosis of an asbestos-caused disease, so why should I worry about it?
Specialized training is necessary to diagnose an asbestos-caused disease. The changes asbestos causes on a chest x-ray are subtle and are often missed by doctors who are not accustomed to diagnosing asbestos-caused diseases. Symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing are often attributed to the aging process, smoking or other breathing disorders.
Q10: Can I still be compensated even though I smoked?
Yes. Smoking does not cause asbestosis. Only exposure to asbestos causes asbestosis. Disease caused by smoking and disease caused by asbestos can usually be distinguished by x-rays and breathing tests. Many railroad workers have the mistaken belief that because they smoked they are prevented from recovering for asbestos-caused diseases. This is not true. People who were or are smokers are still entitled to receive compensation for the portion of their lung damage that was caused by asbestos exposure.
Q11: What are the symptoms of an asbestos-caused disease?
The most common symptom of an asbestos-caused disease is shortness of breath on exertion. Another common symptom is a dry cough. However, a person can have an asbestos-caused disease without having any symptoms at all.
Q12: Should I be concerned even though I have not been exposed to asbestos for 15-20 years?
Yes. The scarring from asbestos takes a long period of time to develop, with disease not appearing until 20 to 50 years after a worker's first exposure to asbestos. Once you have inhaled asbestos, it cannot be removed from your lungs. More importantly, asbestos continues to damage the lungs over time, even after exposure stops.
Know Your Rights Under the FELA
Q1: What is the FELA?
The Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) is a federal law that allows railroad employees to recover for their on the job injuries and occupational diseases that occurred due to the negligence (however slight) of their employer. The railroads have a legal duty to provide their employees safe places to work, safe equipment and proper working conditions. If any railroad fails to take these safety measures, the railroad is held responsible.
Q2: Can a retired employee still recover for injuries that occurred while working for the railroad?
Yes. Even though a railroad employee develops an occupational disease such as asbestosis many years after he has left the railroad, he is still entitled to compensation for injuries caused by the railroad's negligence.
Q3: If I have an asbestos-caused disease, how can I get compensation?
Advice and counsel of a union approved attorney recommended by NARVRE are your best guarantees that your claim will be properly evaluated, handled and presented. Moody, Strople, Kloeppel, Basilone & Higginbotham, Inc. will be available to advise you concerning the legal avenues available to you to get compensation.
Q4: How do I find out if I have an asbestos-caused disease?
Scarring from asbestos causes changes on a chest x-ray. A doctor trained in diagnosing occupational lung diseases can determine whether any changes on your chest x-ray are consistent with an asbestos-caused disease.
The law firm of Moody, Strople, Kloeppel, Basilone & Higginbotham, Inc. will arrange for you to have a chest x-ray taken. This x-ray will be reviewed by a physician trained to interpret asbestos-caused disease, and you will be notified of the results. If the doctor believes that you may have an asbestos-caused disease, Moody, Strople, Kloeppel, Basilone & Higginbotham, Inc. will arrange for you to have a full medical examination by an occupational lung disease specialist.
For further information on how to participate in this asbestos screening, please contact the Asbestos Program Coordinator, at the toll free number listed below, or print this page and complete the following card and mail to the address below:
Transportation Communication Union (TCU)
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE)
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers
National Association of Retired and Veteran Railroad Employees (NARVRE)
United Transportation Union (UTU)
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), (including the Train Dispatcher's Union)
MOODY, STROPLE, KLOEPPEL, BASILONE & HIGGINBOTHAM, INC.
500 Crawford Street
BB&T Building, Suite 300
Portsmouth, Virginia 23704
1 (800) 793-4816
About Moody, Strople, Kloeppel, Basilone & Higginbotham, Inc.
Moody, Strople, Kloeppel, Basilone & Higginbotham, Inc. has helped hundreds of railroad asbestos victims obtain compensation from their railroad employers and from the asbestos manufacturers. Willard J. Moody, Sr. has been representing injured railroad workers since the 1950's and is appointed as a Designated Legal Counsel for the following railroad unions:
Mr. Moody is also on the approved list of attorneys for the following railroad unions:
Willard J. Moody Jr. is the designated legal counsel for the:
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Page Last Revised: 04/15/2007.