Workers take on some degree of danger in almost every occupation. Most dangers in the workplace, however, are public knowledge, allowing potential workers to weigh the benefits against the costs of taking on the position. This is not the case with all hazardous occupations, however, like with railroad workers, for example. Despite the fact that train workers have a substantially higher cancer diagnosis rate than those in many other occupations, this isn’t a topic of conversation or a well-known risk factor among potential employees. Because of this, thousands of train employees have been diagnosed with tumors that cannot be treated. Among railroad employees, for instance, one research indicated that over 4,800 people died from lung cancer during a 38-year period.
If you were employed by a railroad and afterward diagnosed with lung cancer or another kind of cancer, it is possible that your illness was brought on by your job. As we’ve covered in the past, employees who sustain severe injuries on the job may be entitled to financial compensation. Workers in the railroad industry are subject to a different set of regulations under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) than those in most other businesses. Get in touch with a lawyer who specializes in railroad cancer cases if you have questions regarding your rights under FELA.
Due to the nature of their profession, railroad personnel are more likely to be exposed to toxins that might cause cancer. Among the most common malignancies and other significant illnesses among railroad workers are:
Workers in some railroad occupations do have a greater risk of cancer than others. However, the statistics show that the following types of railroad jobs have a higher-than-average risk of cancer than others:
Some of the harmful chemicals used in the railroad business are ubiquitous, meaning they are not confined to a specific part of the track. Particular forms of cancer are, of course, more common in certain professions.
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Railroad employees may be exposed to a variety of harmful chemicals, including carcinogens, depending on the nature of their work and the environment in which they do it. All of the following are examples of carcinogenic compounds to which train personnel are regularly exposed.
It’s true that prolonged exposure to certain of these chemicals is necessary for cancer to develop, but this is not always the case. Workers may get some cancers even after brief exposure to carcinogenic chemicals, as shown by a research finding that the duration of a worker’s employment with a railroad firm did not affect the likelihood of obtaining lung cancer.
The Federal Employers’ Liability Act provides for compensation for railroad employees who suffer occupational diseases like cancer on the job. FELA functions similarly to state and local workers’ compensation systems in that it allows injured employees to sue their employers and be compensated for their losses. There are, however, important distinctions between a FELA claim and a workers’ compensation claim.
To file a claim under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), a railroad worker must first prove that their injury or illness was caused by their employer. To prove that the railroad business knew its employees were in danger from exposure but did nothing to protect them, one must establish that the firm had enough opportunity to warn and protect its employees.
Also, railroad employees who qualify to initiate a FELA claim do not have to relinquish their ability to sue their employer in order to get benefits under the law, which is not the case with workers’ compensation claims. If a train worker contracts cancer while on the job and is not entirely responsible for his or her condition, he or she may be eligible to file a lawsuit against his or her company. And even if a train worker smoked, it is doubtful that they would be judged entirely at blame in the event of a cancer diagnosis.
There is a three-year deadline from when the injury occurred under FELA for injured railroad employees to bring a claim. However, in the case of a cancer diagnosis, pinpointing exactly when the cancer first manifested itself is very difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, employees typically have three years from their cancer diagnosis to file a claim in court. Those who suspect they may have contracted cancer as a result of their job on a railroad should speak with an attorney as soon as possible since there is nothing to be gained by waiting.
