By Randy Appleton, FELA Attorney

Internal documents show that the nation’s railroads were aware of the health risks and side effects associated with asbestos dating all the way to the 1950s. Did they do anything to remove asbestos and keep the workplace safe for their railroad workers? No. Despite being aware of the risks of using of asbestos on pipes, engines, and other items for decades, most railroad companies did not start removing asbestos from diesel freight locomotive engines until the 1990s.

In the meantime, rail workers like brakemen, switchmen, conductors, engineers, and car repairmen developed asbestos-related diseases and cancers like mesothelioma.

Why did the nation’s railroads not remove asbestos insulation from their diesel locomotive engines? Simple answer: Because removing the asbestos would have cost a lot of money and the railroads opted to maximize profits instead of keeping their workers safe.

To learn more about railroad mesothelioma cancer, check out this article written by my colleague Rick Shapiro.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is an injury law firm with a long history of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Our offices are in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our lawyers hold licenses in VA, NC, SC, WV, KY and DC and have handled hundreds of railroad injury and FELA cases throughout the eastern United States. We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, including Dos and Don’ts When Injured at a Railroad — Yours FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Won’t Tell You (But You Must Know). We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at (800) 752-0042 before giving any statement or talking to a railroad claims agent. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Furthermore, our lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.