Silicosis -
Silica Dust Exposure to the Railroad Worker
|
FELA
LAWSUIT FOR SILICOSIS
 Many
railroad workers are exposed to silica dust from ballast operations,
sandblasting, painting, rock drilling, chipping and in tunnel
and track construction and repair. Maintenance of way workers, especially
those who regularly operate machinery such as ballast regulators, spenos,
adzers, brooms, scarfires, tie tampers, undercutters, and related machinery
are especially at risk for contracting silicosis and
other related lung diseases. Ballast, the rocks which are placed under
rails and between railroad ties, are often granite and sometimes
limestone. Granite contains high quantities of silica (quartz). As
the ballast is manipulated, drilled, hammered, crushed and leveled during
Maintenance of Way operations, silica dust is generated which is often
inhaled by the railroad workers.
Many
other railroad workers are exposed to asbestos products which can
cause asbestos lung cancer and mesothelioma. An injured railroad
worker who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma can file a FELA
lawsuit. Additionally, the family of the railroad worker has legal
rights under the FELA and other legal actions against the asbestos
manufacturers and distributors of these asbestos products.
|
SILICOSIS- A RAILROAD WORKERS DISEASE
Silicosis is the chronic fibrosing disease of the lungs produced by the
prolonged and extensive exposure to free crystalline silica dust. When workers
inhale crystalline silica (dust), the lung tissue reacts by developing fibrotic
nodules and scarring around the trapped silica particles. This fibrotic
condition of the lung is called silicosis. If the nodules grow too large,
breathing becomes difficult and death may result. Silicosis victims are also at
high risk of developing active tuberculosisSilicosis is scarring of the lung due
to breathing silica (quartz) dust. Silicosis is one of the most common forms of
pneumoconiosis (lung diseases caused by inhaling certain mineral dusts).
Exposure to silica (quartz) dust causes changes on a chest x-ray which can be
evaluated by a doctor trained in diagnosing silica-caused diseases.Silicosis is
a latent disease, that is, it develops slowly over many years. Silica-caused
diseases often do not appear for 10-15 years after a railroad worker’s
exposure to silica (quartz) dust. However, once you have inhaled silica (quartz)
dust, it cannot be removed from your lungs.
Types of Silicosis:
A railroad worker exposed to
silica dust may develop any of three types of silicosis, depending on the
concentration of airborne silica:
-
Chronic
silicosis, which usually occurs after ten or more years of
exposure to crystalline silica at relatively low concentrations.
-
Accelerated
silicosis which results from exposure to high concentrations of
crystalline silica and develops five to ten years after the initial
exposure.
-
Acute silicosis,
which occurs where exposure concentrations are the highest and can cause
symptoms to develop within a few weeks to four or five years after the
initial exposure.
Silicosis Symptoms for Railroad Workers
Exposed to Silica Dust:
Early stages of silicosis may go unnoticed for the
railroad worker. Continued exposure to silica dust at work for the railroad may
result in a shortness of breath on exercising, possible fever and occasionally
bluish skin at the ear lobes or lips. Silicosis makes a person more
susceptible to infectious diseases of the lungs, such as tuberculosis.
Progression of silicosis leads to fatigue, extreme shortness of breath, loss
of appetite, pains in the chest, and respiratory failure, which may cause
death. Further the diesel fumes and other types of smoke and fumes only make
the workers ability to breath even harder and should be avoided.
At Risk Railroad Jobs with
Potential for Silica Dust Exposure:
It is generally recognized that some railroad workers have
the high risk of being exposed to silica dust and contracting silicosis:
- Construction
- Mining - Tunneling
- Sandblasting
- Stone Crushing
- Rock Quarries Work-
Rock Drilling
- Masonry - Cement Work
- Demolition
- Sandblast Dust Exposure
to other Non-Sandblasters in work area
- Plumbing
- Painting
FELA
LAWSUIT FOR SILICA DUST EXPOSURE RESULTING IN SILICOSIS:
If are
you or a loved one was railroad worker and you have been diagnosed with
silicosis or mesothelioma or you believe that due to your railroad employment
that you have been exposed to free silica dust or asbestos products, then call
us to discuss what can be done to protect your legal rights and whether or not
you have possible silicosis based lawsuit under the FELA. Often our clients do
not know when or where they were exposed to the silica dust. However after
careful investigation and discussions with the worker about their job history,
work duties and the types of products and materials that they worked with, the
workers often are able to discover and understand their silica exposure
history.
Sometimes
due to health reasons,it becomes necessary to enlist the help of former
co-workers to help uncover the exposure history. All cases are handling
by a contingency fee contract, which means that there will be NO
charges to the client for any attorneys fees or legal cases expenses unless we
make a recovery for the client.
NO
FEES OR EXPENSES CHARGED TO CLIENT(s) UNLESS A RECOVERY OR SETTLEMENT IS
OBTAINED.
TALK
TO A SILICOSIS LAWYER NOW at 1-800-883-9858 or 1-800-468-4878
or click
here for online Silicosis Legal
Help
|
