Court upholds $7.5 million verdict against railroad company, denies new trial

By Brian Cole

Published on March 22, 2006

Ray Williams worked for CSX for nearly 40 years, roughly the same amount of time the court found the company was aware of the presence of asbestos, its harm to workers, and the protective measures it could have taken -- but didn't. A Scotland County, N. C. jury ruled in favor of Williams in October 2004 and CSX filed an appeal in January 2005. Before the appeal could be heard, however, Williams died of mesothelioma. The only known cause of the disease is asbestos exposure. William's wife, Shirley, continued the case.

The jury found the company was aware of the dangers posed to its worker as early as the 1930s. It was found that, during the 1950s, CSX knew that asbestos caused lung cancer and in the 1960s the company became aware of asbestos-related mesothelioma. CSX did not take any action to warn employees until the late 1980s.

Experts believe that asbestos exposure in the workplace is the cause of more than 94 percent of mesothelioma cases in men.

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