Legal Help ServicesRailroad Cancer & Toxic Exposure Lawsuits
Cancer or Parkinson’s after years around railroad fumes and chemicals? Find out whether you may have a claim against your employer.
You kept the railroad running. Who protected you?
A serious illness can change everything. Under federal law, eligible workers can seek compensation if the railroad’s negligence contributed to their harm.
- Your employer had a duty to take reasonable steps to keep work safe.
- The question is whether failures at work contributed to your illness.
- A lawyer can review your options under FELA, the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
What are attorneys alleging?
Workers carried the risk. Did the railroad do enough to protect them?
In the Lewis case, a railroad worker’s family alleged:
- Unsafe diesel exposure during his railroad career.
- Missing warnings about the danger.
- Inadequate protection. Their expert criticized exposure controls and air monitoring.
Norfolk challenged the expert’s methods. An appeals court allowed the testimony. It did not decide fault or award payment.
Does your story match our review criteria?
- 10+ years working for a railroad.A career in transportation, track, shop or other railroad work.
- 10+ years of toxic exposure during that work.Such as diesel exhaust, welding fumes, asbestos or industrial chemicals.
- A diagnosis within the last three years, or recently learning the disease may be connected to railroad work.Tell us when you learned of the possible connection.
These are typical intake criteria, not universal FELA requirements or a guarantee of a case. A lawyer must check the filing deadline; learning more today does not necessarily restart it.
Diagnoses we are reviewing
- Kidney cancer
- Parkinson’s diseaseParticularly with a welding history.
- Lung cancer in non-smokers
We also review leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, bladder cancer, mesothelioma, colorectal cancer, stomach cancer and other blood or solid-organ cancers.
Other conditions reviewed with a welding history
Lung, kidney and bladder cancer; parkinsonism/manganism; welder’s lung; COPD; and silicosis.
Tell us the exact diagnosis. Parkinson’s disease and manganese-related parkinsonism are not interchangeable. We do not assume every exposure caused every listed condition.
This is legal information, not medical advice. Ask your healthcare professional about treatment.
Railroad jobs we want to hear about
Transportation
Locomotive engineers, conductors, brakemen, yardmasters and switchmen.
Maintenance of Way
Track workers and laborers; section, assistant section and relief foremen; track inspectors; heavy equipment operators.
Mechanical and shop work
Welders, machinists, pipefitters, electricians, carmen, locomotive shop workers, parts cleaners and shop laborers.
Other high-exposure work
Signal maintainers, bridge and building workers, vegetation control workers and fueling personnel.
The record, in focus
Workers and families are challenging the railroads
Examples from separate occupational-illness cases. These are court developments, not one nationwide lawsuit or a promised result.
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January 2024
A railroad family’s case can continue
In Garner v. BNSF, a family alleged that decades of toxic exposure caused a retired trainman’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A California appeals court reversed the exclusion of their experts and the dismissal of the case. The family could pursue its case; this was not a compensation award.
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September 2025
A widow challenges Norfolk Southern
In Lewis v. Norfolk Southern, a widow alleged diesel exposure and failures to warn and protect her husband contributed to his leukemia after 39 years of railroad work. A Florida appeals court reversed the dismissal and sent the case back. It did not decide that Norfolk was at fault or award payment.
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March 2026
The proof still matters
In Cundy v. BNSF, a Washington appeals court upheld dismissal after an expert’s explanation of what caused the worker’s cancer was excluded. This unpublished, case-specific decision shows why exposure history and medical evidence matter. Court outcomes differ; a diagnosis alone does not prove a case.
Tell us what happened. Find out what comes next.
Start with your railroad work and diagnosis. No records are needed to make an initial inquiry. A review does not guarantee a case or compensation.
Sources: 45 U.S.C. §§ 51 and 56; Garner v. BNSF, California Court of Appeal, January 4, 2024; Lewis v. Norfolk Southern, Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, September 19, 2025; Cundy v. BNSF, Washington Court of Appeals, March 5, 2026 (unpublished); IARC diesel-exhaust evaluation, 2012; NIOSH manganese guidance. Review criteria supplied by Legal Help Services. These are other parties’ cases, not results obtained by Legal Help Services.