A former employee of Union Pacific Railroad has filed a lawsuit claiming that toxins he was exposed to on the job caused him to develop multiple myeloma.

Plaintiff Grover K. states that he was employed by Missouri Pacific Railroad (under the Union Pacific Railroad umbrella) from 1972 to 1988 in a number of roles, including laborer, machine operator, foreman, and assistant roadmaster. Grover claims that during his time with the company, he was exposed to a variety of toxins and that this exposure eventually lead him to develop the cancer multiple myeloma.

He claims that Union Pacific Railroad was negligent in exposing employees to known toxins and endangering their health, and argues that the company knew or should have known that many substances common on work sites were “deleterious, poisonous, toxic, and highly harmful to its employees’ health.”

Grover claims that he was exposed to numerous known carcinogens during his time at Union Pacific, including formaldehyde, benzene, oil smoke, silica dust, asbestos, creosote, and manganese. Some of his exposure due to these chemicals, especially formaldehyde, occurred during an accident or spill, but the majority of his exposure to the toxins occurred while performing normal, expected work.

Benzene was banned in consumer products over two decades ago in the United States, though the chemical still allegedly shows up in railroad products. Some of the most dangerous forms of benzene are reported to be released by the burning of diesel fuel. In this form, benzene is released into the environment and can be inhaled.

Initially, benzene was thought to only cause lung cancer but has now been linked to over fifteen cancers, including multiple myeloma.

Investigations into cancer-related toxin exposure during railroad work often focus on benzene, but research shows that many other chemicals common to railroad work are also carcinogens. For example, creosote, another chemical that many railroad workers are exposed to, has been linked to skin and scrotal cancer.

In his case, Grover argues that the company was negligent because it failed to:

• “use ordinary care and caution to provide [Grover] with a reasonably safe place in which to work as required by the FELA [Federal Employers’ Liability Act],”
• “take any effective action to reduce, modify, or eliminate certain job duties, equipment, yards, buildings, and right of ways from the presence of toxic materials and carcinogens,”
• “test railroad facilities, equipment, yards, buildings, and rights of ways for the presence of toxic materials and carcinogens,”

and to

• “engage in follow up monitoring of its facilities, equipment, yards, building, and right of ways for the presence of toxic materials and carcinogens,” and numerous other counts.

The Union Pacific Railroad negligence lawsuit claims that Grover suffered physical, financial, and emotional injury as a result of his exposure to toxins during his work with the railroad company. He seeks damages for emotional distress, as well as compensation for lost wages and medical bills related to treating his multiple myeloma.

The Union Pacific Railroad Multiple Myeloma lawsuit is Case No. 8:18-cv-00079-JFB-MDN, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska.