Plaintiff Alvin P., a resident of Louisiana, is requesting a trial by jury against the Illinois Central Railroad Company, or ICRC in his recently-filed lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Alvin was an employee of the ICRC. He claims he had sustained personal injuries while working in the line of duty and employed as a carman/mechanic by the company. Specifically, he alleges developing kidney cancer because of his railroad work.

The kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit is being filed purporting allegations resulting from the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, which is commonly referred to as the FELA. The FELA “is a U.S. federal law that was enacted in 1908 to protect and compensate railroad workers injured on the job, if the worker can prove that the railroad was at least partially legally negligent in causing the injury.”

According to the kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit, Alvin was hired by the ICRC’s Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company in 1963, and had worked for the company for approximately 14 years. He had worked for the railroad as a mechanic or carman in the ICRC’s Canal Yard and Mays Yard.

The kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit maintains that, while he was working on the job, the work had required Alvin to be constantly exposed to the hazardous chemical, carbon tetrachloride. The chemical was used by the ICRC to clean the rail and braking systems.

It states that, “during his use of this chemical, plaintiff was directly exposed to carbon tetrachloride, through inhalation and direct skin contact, directly causing injury through his contact with this hazardous and carcinogenic chemical.”

The kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit maintains that at no time during his years of work did the company notify him of the potential hazard of carbon tetrachloride.

The kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit states, “at no time did ICRC ever notify the plaintiff about the substances, specifically Carbon Tetrachloride, which ICRC exposed him to, nor did ICRC give any warning, protection, or safety equipment to guard against the hazardous mandated by ICRC.”

The contention being made, according to the kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit, is that the ICRC knew of the potential hazardous and had owned data iterating their knowledge of the serious adverse health effects that may result from the exposure to the chemical product.

According to the kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit, the “ICRC had specific prior knowledge that there was a high risk of injury or death attributable to exposure to said chemical products, including, but not limited to, the development of kidney cancer.”

The plaintiff alleges that because of the lack of awareness he had in the potential hazard of carbon tetrachloride, he developed kidney cancer related to said exposure.

According to the plaintiff, moreover, he was completely and utterly unaware of his “latent and deteriorating medical condition,” until his diagnosis in July 2014.

The kidney cancer and railroad work lawsuit contends, “the injuries by plaintiff and the resulting damages came as a result, in whole or in part, of the negligence of defendant ICRC, its officers, employees, and agents, and in violation of the FELA.”

The Kidney Cancer and Railroad Work Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-05657-ILRL-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.