Penn Central Toxic Exposure | Railroad Diesel Cancer Lawsuits

Railroad Diesel Exhaust Exposure

Penn Central has not officially employed any railroad workers in decades; however, many medical conditions and cancers linked to rail yard toxic exposure can develop many years after first contact. If you or a loved one has developed cancer after working at Penn Central or another railroad outfit in the last 50 years, call for a free case review.

Reviewing a wide range of occupational lung diseases and cancers  linked to exposure to diesel exhaust, welding fumes, asbestos, creosote, solvents, silica dust and benzene.

Former Penn Central workers may have faced years of hazardous exposure to toxic materials without their knowledge at the time. But after chronic exposure to a variety of carcinogenic substances, many employees fell ill. The following medical conditions and cancers have been associated with significant durations around benzene, diesel fumes and other industrial chemicals:

• Lung Cancer
• Bladder Cancer
• Esophageal Cancer
• Nasopharyngeal Cancer
• Stomach Cancer
• Kidney Cancer
• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
• Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)
• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Multiple Myeloma
• Aplastic Anemia
• COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
• Emphysema
• RADS (Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome)
• Interstitial Lung Disease
• Pulmonary Fibrosis

Can I File a Claim Against Penn Central?

Penn Central does not exist any longer, however, there are ways to file legal claims for former workers who develop a cancer related to work for the company as it stood many years ago. Our attorneys can assist victims of toxic exposure, file personal injury claims, and recover the following damages:

• Medical Bills: medical expenses can mount quickly when an occupational illness is diagnosed, overwhelming many families. We can help Penn Central workers pay for hospital visits, surgery, treatments and medications. Any settlement we seek will include compensation for past medical bills as well as coverage for all future costs.
• Long-term Disability: we can seek compensation for losses due to a long-term condition that may preclude an individual from working in the future. We can seek disability and cover rehab costs and further job training.
• Lost wages: We will always seek damages related to the loss of past wages due to illness or injury, as well as lost earnings in the future in the case that a worker is not able to return to the workforce in the same capacity.
• Non-material damages: There are some damages that are difficult to quantify, however, we will seek compensation for emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of quality of life and wrongful death in the case of a terminal condition.

About Penn Central

Before morphing into Conrail after a period of financial trouble and subsequent bankruptcy, the Penn Central Transportation Company, typically called Penn Central, was an American class one railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads, but failed less than teen years after forming. All of Penn Central’s railroad assets were nationalized into Conrail.

Conrail, otherwise known as the Consolidated Rail Corp., combined Penn Central, Central of New Jersey, Erie Lackawanna, Lehigh & Hudson River, Lehigh Valley, and the Reading railroads. Conrail also went under eventually, and the liability of older railroad injury claims are handled by CSX and Norfolk Southern.

Which Penn Central Workers Have Developed Cancer?

Almost any worker who was exposed to creosote, solvents, welding fumes, diesel exhaust, asbestos, silica or benzene could have seriously increased the risk of later developing a related medical condition. Machinists, engineers, conductors, brakemen, carmen, pipefitters, electricians, yardmen, and train mechanics who spent a lot of time in poorly ventilated rail shops and roundhouses are at risk.

Anyone who has developed cancer after working at a rail yard operated by Penn Central, Conrail, CSX, Norfolk Southern, or another rail company, can consider filing a FELA claim, and can contact an attorney to learn more about a possible occupational cancer lawsuit.