Brain Damaged Railroad Worker Awarded $1.8 Million
September 15, 2006
A Kentucky jury has awarded $1.8 million in damages to a former railroad employee who suffered permanent brain damage as a result of workplace exposure to toxic solvents.
Terry L. Williams, 59, had been a machinist who worked on locomotives for 34 years when he was diagnosed with toxic encephalopathy in 2000. Williams subsequently filed a lawsuit against his former employer, CSX Transportation, alleging that his brain damage was caused by years of exposure to dangerous solvents with little or no protection.
After a two-week trial, the jury found CSX 90 percent responsible for Williams’ injuries and awarded him damages to cover past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
CSX has paid out more than $35 million in settlements and awards to approximately 470 workers.
By the early 1990s, use of toxic chemicals had largely been phased out of the railroad industry. Still, hundreds of railroad workers have been diagnosed with brain damage as a result of workplace exposure to hazardous solvents.
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