October 7th, 2004

A retired worker, who worked on the railroads for nearly forty years, has been awarded $7.5 million from his former employer, CSX Transportation. A Scotland County Court reached their verdict recently, despite claims from CSX that they were not accountable for the retired workers’ mesothelioma.

Raymond Williams, aged sixty, retired in 1999, but in 2002 was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. Railroad workers do not receive worker’s compensation, so Mr Williams did what was required and took his case to court.

The jury at the hearing concluded that CSX were aware of the dangers of asbestos dust from the 1930s, but that they did not provide protection for, or even warn, their employees until the 1980s, allowing nearly fifty years to lapse before taking action. The company stopped using asbestos products in the late 1980s but by this time much of the damage had been done.

Since his diagnosis, Williams has undergone several lots of surgery and chemotherapy, but the cancer has spread although he continues to try and fight it.