Paul Tassin  |  January 20, 2017

Category: Labor & Employment

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creosote-cancer-risk-railroadRailroad workers exposed to a creosote cancer risk may be able to get compensation via a FELA lawsuit.

What Is Creosote?

Creosote is a thick liquid that results from treating coal, certain kinds of wood, or other plant matter with high levels of heat. It contains chemicals that can make it useful for certain applications but can also present certain health risks.

Coal tar creosote is still in particularly widespread use. In smaller amounts, coal tar may be included in treatments for certain skin conditions like psoriasis or scalp dandruff. In heavier concentrations, it can be used in pesticides, fungicides, animal dips that treat for fleas, or animal repellents.

Coal tar is also one of the most widely used wood preservatives currently in use. Wood used in building railroad tracks may be treated with creosote, leaving railroad workers exposed to creosote cancer risk.

Creosote Cancer Risk for Railroad Workers

Exposure to creosote can put a worker at risk for certain health problems. Inhaling creosote vapors can irritate the respiratory tract. Large amounts of coal tar creosote can cause skin burns and eye irritation, and more toxic levels of exposure can cause convulsions, unconsciousness or death.

Even cancer can result from creosote exposure. Long-term exposure to even relatively low levels of creosote exposure has been linked to cases of cancer, particularly skin cancer and cancer of the scrotum.

Both the EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have determined that coal tar creosote probably causes cancer in humans.

Certain occupations in which workers are exposed to creosote may be linked to these types of cancer. Chimney sweepers, for example, are regularly exposed to wood and coal tar creosotes, and that exposure had been associated with a creosote cancer risk.

The same goes for railroad workers. Creosote is one among many different potentially dangerous chemical products that railroad workers may be exposed to over the long term. Even a low level of exposure can increase a worker’s creosote cancer risk over time.

Seeking Compensation Under FELA

Railroad workers who develop cancer related to on-the-job creosote exposure have a legal way to seek compensation for their illness. Federal law has created a system of compensation specifically for railroad workers to cover them for work-related diseases or injuries.

Claims like these fall under FELA, the Federal Employers Liability Act. FELA was originally enacted over a hundred years ago. Like state-law-based workers’ compensation programs, FELA allows railroad workers to get compensated if their injury or disease is linked to their work.

Any railroad employee can file a FELA claim, even if their regular work doesn’t bring them in direct contact with trains or tracks.

Unlike state workers’ comp, FELA requires a worker to show the employer was negligent. But even if the employer’s negligence was only partly to blame for the harm, FELA claimants can still get partial compensation.

A FELA lawsuit comes with its own particular legal complexities. That’s why a worker who is interested in bringing a FELA lawsuit stands to benefit from a consultation with a knowledgeable FELA attorney.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual railroad worker cancer lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, railroad worker cancer lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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