By John Cooper, Virginia (VA) Railroad Employee and FELA Injury Attorney

Virginia coal is a hot commodity. At the Lamberts Point piers in Norfolk, VA, there are always two colliers being loaded and another two waiting to come in.  Coal sales have spiked to record levels.  But what does this increased demand mean for the men and women who work in and around the port, on the loading platform and in the connected rail yard?

Federal health officials recently declared formaldehyde, which is found in coal dust, to be a known carcinogen.  As an experienced Virginia railroad attorney, I know that the fumes put workers exposed to coal dust at risk for developing nose, throat and blood cancers.

The problem is that, just like railroad companies that ignored the dangers of asbestos dust exposure, coal companies are downplaying or dismissing reports that coal dust is dangerous. Railroads allowed their workers to continue to be exposed dangerous conditions, ignoring preventative recommendations from doctors to increase employees’ education, wet down and eliminate dust, encourage respirator, and conduct regular air quality analyses. As a consequence of the rail companies’ willful inaction and disregard for worker safety, thousands have died of preventable work-related illnesses such as mesothelioma.

The sad part is that those preventative techniques were discussed as early as 1936.  Despite the railroad industry’s awareness of these asbestos issues, corporations allowed rail workers to continue to be exposed to hazards because the companies knew that symptoms of cancer or lung diseases would not present for decades.

Working with FELA clients, I have seen the deadly aftermath of mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. I now fear for the worst for those being exposed to coal dust.  Although the coal industry is getting richer, the men and woman who turn the cogs of this giant industry may ultimately suffer if exposure to coal dust continues.

CT

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is an injury law firm whose attorneys have long histories of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases.  Attorneys will our firm have served as chairmen of the Railroad section of the American Association for Justice. One of our attorneys wrote a major attorney’s encyclopedia section on railroad safety litigation. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Our offices are in Virginia Beach and Hampton, Virginia (VA), and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC, and have handled hundreds of railroad injury and FELA cases throughout the eastern United States. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, such as 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. Further, our lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.