A railroad company’s duty to provide a safe workplace begins when it has knowledge that a potential hazard exists. If a railroad employer learns of a potential hazard, it must take reasonable steps to investigate and to inform and protect its employees, or it will be liable when a railroad employee injury occurs. This duty to provide a safe workplace can not be transferred to another company or person to perform. However, this duty to provide a safe workplace does not extend to non-railroad workers.

This week an Illinois Appellate Court decided that a railroad company did not owe a duty to provide a safe workplace to non-railroad asbestos plant workers.  In Campton v. Pneumo Abex Corp., the plaintiffs, asbestos plant workers, alleged that the railroad negligently transported asbestos to and from the plant where they had worked, and did not warn them of the dangers of asbestos. The question posed to the Court was, “Whether the defendant, Illinois Central Railroad Company, had a duty to the employees of an asbestos company to pick up unloaded boxcars upon the request of the asbestos company in such a manner as to prevent the movement of asbestos fibers accumulated upon the boxcars from plant operations, or warn such employees prior to moving the boxcars after the railroad had taken possession of the boxcars.”

The court looked at 4 factors to determine whether the railroad company had a duty to these non-railroad asbestos plant workers to provide a safe workplace. The 4 factors the court analyzed are (1) the reasonable foreseeability of the injury, (2) the likelihood of the injury, (3) the magnitude of the burden of guarding against the injury, and (4) the consequences of placing that burden on the defendant.

The court decided that railroad companies do not owe a duty to non-railroad asbestos plant workers to pick up unloaded boxcars in a way that prevented the movement of asbestos fibers that had built up on the boxcars from the asbestos plant operations. Further, the court held that the railroad company also did not have a duty to warn non-railroad plant employees of the dangers of asbestos before moving these boxcars.

This case makes it clear that railroad companies have an ongoing duty to its own workers to provide a safe workplace, but this duty does not extend to non-railroad workers exposed to asbestos. If you are a railroad worker who has lung cancer or another asbestos-related cancer, and you would like information about a possible lawsuit, please contact us at 1-800-374-2144.

The process involves removing immune cells called dendritic cells from a patient.  The cells are then treated reinjected into the patient in combination with a compound called rapamycin.  Rapamycin has previously been used in assistant organ transplant recipients from rejecting their new organs. RCPI researchers found that rapamycin prevents a person’s immune system from using up its cancer-killing T-cells all at once.  It is the memory attributes of these immune cells, which will be included in the vaccine that suggests that this vaccine may prevent cancer cells from returning in the long term.

Researchers at RCPI are hopeful that this new vaccine to help patients with bladder, brain, breast, esophageal, gastrointestinal, hepatocellular, kidney, lung, melanoma, ovarian, prostate, sarcoma and uterine tumors.

The attorneys at Doran & Murphy will continue to track the amazing progress made by the physicians and staff at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

What is lung cancer screening?  When a patient is screened for lung cancer, it means that doctors look for signs of cancer before the person has symptoms of the disease.  Individuals who are considered at-risk for lung cancer may benefit from active monitoring for the development of lung cancer.   However, the screening process does have its own risks. Together with their treating doctors, those at risk for lung cancer should make the decision of whether lung cancer screening is a good choice for their own situation.

Doctors and scientists are also studying what method of screening for lung cancer is the most effective way to catch the disease in its early stages.  Recently, the National Cancer Institute studied lung cancer early-detection in a trial called the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST).  The results are striking:   The group of high-risk participants who were screened with a low-dose spiral CT scan had 20.3% fewer deaths from lung cancer than the other group.

Lung cancer screening centers are growing around the country.  However, these programs may not be covered by typical insurance. University Hospital’s Seidman Cancer Center in  in Cleveland, Ohio now offers a complete lung cancer screening program at a cost of only $99.00.  Roswell Park, in Buffalo, New York also offers a comprehensive lung cancer screening program.  To be considered for the program, individuals must be over fifty years of age and have risk factors for lung cancer, including a history of smoking, chronic lung disease or COPD, a previous history of lung cancer and/or occupationally related asbestos disease.

If you are at a higher risk of lung cancer because of your history of smoking, exposure to asbestos or diesel exhaust, check with your doctor to find out if lung cancer screening is the right choice for you.

Senator Schumer spoke at a privately owned parking lot where a Norfolk Southern train car derailed and landed this past November in Elmira, NY.  Norfolk Southern did not notify city officials or emergency personnel about the incident because of an internal policy that did not require notification.

Schumer’s letter to the FRA urged the federal agency to require railroad companies to notify local government officials and emergency responders of accidents and derailments through immediate phone calls and other means of communication regardless of the number of cars or type of freight involved.

Senator Schumer issued a press release, where he states, “[a]fter Norfolk Southern’s outrageous failure to notify local officials in Elmira of a November train derailment, it has become abundantly clear that rail companies need to be more forthcoming when their trains literally run off the tracks”.  Schumer continued, “[i]t is flatly unacceptable for train companies, like Norfolk Southern, to pick and choose which accidents they report to local officials and emergency responders and which they do not.”

If you or a family member have been injured as a result of a train derailment and you would like to speak with a lawyer, please contact us at 1-800-374-2144 or use the “Contact an Attorney” form on the right side of this page.

The tracks broke forcing the cars to come off the track. The cars remained upright and there was no leakage. It took crews over 5 hours to put the trains back on the track, and all persons were told to evacuate the area as there was a possibility of an ethanol spill.

In addition, five Union Pacific rail cars derailed in Texas and came off the tracks. These cars contained the chemicals methanol, xylene and ethylene glycol. All of them are dangerous to inhale and extremely flammable.

The derailment caused county roads to close and businesses were immediately evacuated. There were no reported injuries.

Two of the trains collided when the first train stopped and the second train rear-ended it. The third train, on a parallel track, rolled through the debris and wreckage from the first crash, causing that train to also derail. Two crew members on the second train were treated for non-life-threatening injuries in a local hospital.

The Porter County Emergency Management responder listed diesel fuel on the train as the cause of the fire. The fire raged as thick black smoke and 100 foot flames emanated from the scene. Emergency personnel had a difficult time reaching the fire as it was in an area with no ready access. Residents within one mile of the crash were evacuated from the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of this accident.

These Metabolomx breath tests are being examined by doctors along with computerized tomography (CT) scans. Researchers hope that these new breath tests, which report active tumor metabolism, will be used in coordination with CT scans to assist clinicians in distinguishing between benign and malignant lung nodules.  This study presents hope for more non-invasive ways to detect and diagnose lung cancer.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has been exposed to asbestos or diesel fume exhaust, contact Doran & Murphy at 1-800-374-2144 or use our “Contact an Attorney” form on the right side of this page.

Because of the health hazards posed by asbestos, the EPA issued standards several decades ago to help prevent such asbestos-related diseases.   More recently, the EPA began to consider alternative methods of handling asbestos in buildings to be demolished.  While these alternative methods were being investigated, but prior to their approval, the EPA allowed these alternative methods to be used at multiple sites.

The recently-released Early Warning Report states that “the current and proposed use of unapproved methods may jeopardize the health and safety of the public.”  Experiments of one of these alternative methods resulted in asbestos fiber releases.

The Early Warning Report directs the EPA to immediately and clearly communicate the approved standards to its regional and field offices to prevent potentially hazardous asbestos exposure.  The Early Warning Report further directs the EPA to warn the public and any workers who were present of their potential asbestos exposure.

As discussed in the EPA’s report, asbestos exposure can lead to many serious diseases, including mesothelioma.  If you or a loved one suffer from an asbestos related disease and would like to investigate a potential case, please contact us at 1-800-374-2144 or use the “Contact an Attorney” form on the right side of this page.

The father filed a lawsuit in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas in Toledo, Ohio, alleging wrongful death and negligence. Part of Mr. Brown’s lawsuit claims that Amtrak failed in properly instructing its employees as well as failing to make and enforce reasonable policies for the safety of people near the railroad tracks.  Importantly, the incident is alleged to have occurred less than four-tenths of a mile away from the decedent’s high school.

The attorneys at Doran & Murphy have significant experience in handling train accident cases and subsequent wrongful death cases. If you or a member of your family have been injured in a train accident please contact us at 1-800-374-2144 or use the “Contact an Attorney” form on the right side of this page.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is concerned with Norfolk Southern’s lack of notification of Elmira officials and its accident notification policy.  Mr. Schumer was quoted as saying, “It is flatly unacceptable for Norfolk Southern to dummy up following this derailment and fail to keep officials and emergency responders informed – in detail and in real-time – of all information relevant to this accident . . . It is critical that localities are informed and briefed on all incidents that occur within their borders.”

Elmira Mayor John Tonello supports Senator Schumer’s efforts, stating “[N]orfolk Southern’s response to this accident was wholly inadequate and, frankly, outrageous . . . [t]hey failed to provide even the most basic information about the derailment to the city or emergency service agencies, suggesting an arrogance that places Elmirans at risk.”

Mr. Schumer requested that Norfolk Southern and other railroad companies reassess accident notification policies, to ensure that emergency responders and ancillary services be able to respond appropriately.