By Randy Appleton, Injured Rail Worker Attorney

An attorney with the Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton law firm has published an article about the serious risks associated with asbestos exposure and how mesothelioma can affect myriad rail workers, including engineers, conductors, switchmen and ironworkers. To learn more, check out “Mesothelioma and Other Railroad Cancers Can Affect Virtually Any Rail Employee.”

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About the Editors: The Virginia- and Carolina-based attorneys at Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton have long histories of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases and of helping victims of rail crossing accidents. Lawyers at our firm have served as chairmen of the railroad section of the American Association for Justice, the largest national victim’s injury attorney organization, and one of our attorneys wrote a major legal encyclopedia section on railroad safety litigation. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Be sure to get your free reports about railroad injury, disease and wrongful death FELA cases: The Do’s and Don’ts When Injured at a Railroad — Yours FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Won’t Tell You (But You Must Know). Also, our railroad injury lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.

By Randy Appleton, Railroad Accident and FELA Lawyer

My colleague Rick Shapiro has written a new post for our firm’s Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton, VA Injuryboard blog site about a $10 million settlement reached in a wrongful death lawsuit related to the death of a worker who was exposed to asbestos in a Kansas City, Missouri (MO), courthouse. The case was brought by the estate of  Nancy Lopez, a woman who had worked for 27 years in the Jackson County Courthouse before her death of mesothelioma. Her family sued a firm of engineers who they accused of mishandling asbestos. Many of our cases involve exposure to asbestos on the railroads.

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About the Editors: The Virginia- and Carolina-based attorneys at Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton have long histories of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases and of helping victims of rail crossing accidents. Lawyers at our firm have served as chairmen of the railroad section of the American Association for Justice, the largest national victim’s injury attorney organization, and one of our attorneys wrote a major legal encyclopedia section on railroad safety litigation. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Be sure to get your free reports about railroad injury, disease and wrongful death FELA cases: The Do’s and Don’ts When Injured at a Railroad — Yours FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Won’t Tell You (But You Must Know). Also, our railroad injury lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.

By John Cooper, FELA Plaintiff’s Attorney in Virginia

In his latest blog post to our firm’s Virginia personal attorneys’ website, my colleague Rick Shapiro reports that federal felony fraud charges have been filed in New York (NY) against former Long Island Railroad employees and two doctors who are being accused of inventing false diagnoses of disabling injuries and illnesses. The prosecutors estimate that the scheme has resulted in more than $300 million unearned payments from the Railroad Retire Board fund. Rick notes that a case like this makes it all the more difficult for rail workers who have legitimate work-related injury and wrongful death claims to receive the compensation they deserve. To read more, click over to “Fraudulent Disability Claims Make Life Hard for All Rail Employees.”

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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.

By Rick Shapiro, Virginia FELA Attorney

When a railroad worker suffers an injury while on the job and reports it, he or she almost always has to fill out a document called an injury report. Some of the questions asked on this form relate to what happened to cause the injury and who may have been at fault. Rail workers must be careful while filling out this report, especially if the rail worker may need to pursue damages through a FELA claim. To learn more about the injury report form and what to do with these types of questions, take a look at this article written by FELA lawyer John Cooper: “Virginia FELA Lawyer Examines a Railroad Injury Form.”

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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.

By Rick Shapiro, Railroad Worker Illness and FELA Attorney

Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific, the two largest freight railroads providing service to ports in California (CA), have been sued by a coalition of environmental groups who claim that the diesel fumes emitted by the trucks, heavy equipment and locomotives at the companies’ rail yards pose an unacceptable cancer and lung disease risk to railroad employees and people living and working in communities around the yards.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit,

Millions of Californians are exposed to toxic levels of pollution from BNSF and UP’s operations. The California Air Resources Board has found that communities even 8 miles away from some of BNSF and UP’s rail yards suffer from increased cancer risk. … Almost every week, the scientific community releases new studies showing the toxicity of diesel exhaust, which is associated with premature death, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and even obesity and diabetes. Some researchers have even found a correlation between diesel exhaust and premature birth and lower IQ in children.

The East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice are also suing the railroads on behalf of people’s who have reported health problems as a result of their exposure to diesel fumes.

In a blog post about the federal suit, the NRDC cites studies that indicate recent efforts by BNSF and UP to clean up operation at their California yards have still left some nearby residents at risks for cancers and other illnesses that are 50 times higher than state standards. A key goal of the legal action is to have particulates in diesel exhaust declared a solid waste that is subject to the same federal regulations as hazardous solid waste, just as unburned diesel fuel itself is. Should that happen, all railroads — including Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern — would be affected.

The lawsuit is timely. I wrote earlier in 2011 that researchers have begun tracking diesel emissions from a Los Angeles-area BNSF rail yard while at the same time recording health problems for people living in the neighborhood bordering the yard. Shortly after I posted that blog, one of my Virginia-based FELA attorneys reported that formaldehyde in diesel exhaust had been definitively categorized as a carcinogen by federal health and workplace safety officials.

Rail employees have some of the heaviest daily exposures to diesel exhaust.While the negative health effects of long-term exposure to diesel fumes have long been recognized by doctors, regulators and lawyers, most railroad workers have remained completely unaware that numerous carcinogens are contained in diesel exhaust. Awareness of “diesel asthma” has also been growing, and I have helped a conductor who developed asthma and became unable to work after spending years breathing exhaust from diesel-powered locomotives receive a substantial FELA settlement from the rail company that had employed him.

It’s too soon to know how the environmental groups’ lawsuit against BNSF and Union Pacific will turn out, or even whether the plaintiffs will have their day in court. However, any effort that calls attention to the health risks from diesel fume exposure has the welcome potential to make railroad work for conductors, engineers, carmen trackmen and others safer, as well as living and working near rail yards less dangerous.

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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.

By Rick Shapiro, Railroad Accident Attorney in Virginia

The intense fire and evacuation of the small town of Tiskilwa, Illinois (IL), after an Iowa Interstate Railroad freight train hauling ethanol for Archer Daniels Midlands derailed made national news in early October 2011. While attention-grabbing video of the conflagration faded from television and computer screens within 24 hours, the environmental impacts of the accident are likely to persist for years.

Not all the ethanol was destroyed in the fire — to say nothing of any spilled oil, diesel fuel or chemicals used by firefighters to suppress the flames. As a result, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is asking Iowa Interstate to fund the installation of wells and testing equipment to ensure that the quality of water in nearby creeks has not been compromised. The state’s EPA has also asked the Illinois attorney general to order the railroad to pay for cleaning up the soil around the area of the wreck.

Of particular concern are two chemical components of ethanol fuel, ethyl acetate and 1,1-diethoxyethane. Both of the substances can cause irritation to people’s skin and lungs, and large exposures to 1,1-diethoxyethane fumes can cause suffocation. The effects of the chemicals on fish, birds and other wildlife are similar but most likely to be heightened because of the animals’ small size and constant exposure to the chemicals in the places where they live.

News reports of the ethanol train derailment all repeat some version of the statement “No deaths or injuries occurred as a result of the incident.” What that sentence means is that no residents of  Tiskilwa got hurt. I’ve yet to see any mention of whether the engineer, conductor or other member of the train crew suffered injuries, which is a likely occurrence any time a locomotive or string of rail cars derails.

As a FELA plaintiff’s attorney based in Virginia (VA), I devote much of my practice to helping railroad workers or their surviving family members receive compensation from rail companies whose negligence caused the employees to develop diseases due to exposure to harmful chemicals. The short- and long-term health risks from a derailment and fire like the one in Illinois are almost incalculable. I hope Iowa Interstate Railroad will meet its responsibility to pay for the needed environmental cleanup and monitoring, Doing so will help prevent greater problems in the future.

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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.

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.

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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.

By Rick Shapiro, FELA Attorney in North Carolina

In his latest blog post to our Carolina personal injury lawyers’ website, my fellow FELA specialist John Cooper writes about the similarities between risks for on-the-job injuries and work-related illnesses for NASA astronauts and railroad workers. John notes that both astronauts and railroaders suffer from radiation exposure, shoulder injuries and vision problems. To read more, click over to “Work-Related Injuries, Illnesses for Astronauts Echo Those for Railroad Workers.”

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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.

By Kevin Duffan, Attorney With Carolina FELA Law Firm

My colleague John Cooper, a FELA railroad injury lawyer, reported that a NC man who was injured while working for Norfolk Southern, and later fired because supervisors claimed he falsified his injury statement, was awarded more than $122,000 in compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. John noted the man’s claim arose not from the injury alone but from the rail carrier’s decision to illegally punish the worker for getting hurt.

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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.

By Rick Shapiro, FELA Lawyer in Virginia

Results from a recent study conducted to address the potential connection between exposure to carcinogens and the increased risk of developing leukemia or lymphoma show that 13 workers at Samsung computer chip plants died of leukemia or lymphoma. Another 26 current or former employees who came into contact with toxic and cancer-causing substances are also struggling with those blood cancers, according to Yahoo News.

Samsung decided to commission the study to help quell public fears that the company was exposing its workers to toxic, deadly chemicals and fumes. This is why it comes as no surprise that the results of the study point to no connection between the workers’ exposure to chemicals on the job and their illnesses. Obviously, this is not a definitive study on the potential connection between carcinogens and blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia. In fact, plenty of other studies indicate a direct connection between toxic fume exposure and the development of deadly cancers.

As a FELA lawyer who has represented numerous railroad workers who were exposed to toxic diesel exhaust fumes or asbestos and developed mesothelioma and other deadly cancers, I can tell you the connection between the two is strong. These workers are exposed to some awful chemicals, including large amounts formaldehyde, and radiation.

In fact, I recently obtained an $8.6 million jury verdict for a rail worker who lost his life to lung cancer after being exposed to diesel exhaust fumes, radioactive scrap, and asbestos for years.

There is a good chance other studies will be published, hopefully from sources with less of a conflict of interest, which contradict the Samsung study and provide proof that workers are developing deadly blood cancers, and other cancers, from workplac exposure to lethal chemicals and fumes.

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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.

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