As if mesothelioma victims from Libby, Montana, haven’t faced enough challenges, this week, BNSF Railway appealed a 2024 jury verdict that awarded two asbestos disease victims $4 million each. That decision had been seen as a bellweather and a chance for accountability for BNSF’s role in the town’s catastrophic asbestos contamination. Now there are concerns that victims may never receive the compensation that they deserve.
2024 Verdict Ordered BNSF to Pay Victims $8 Million
In 2024, a jury awarded two Libby, Montana, mesothelioma victims $4 million in damages, agreeing that the toxic conditions in BNSF Railway’s rail yard had led to their illness. Hundreds of other victims with pending cases against the company saw the verdict as accountability for the company’s negligence surrounding its role in transporting and working with W.R. Grace’s vermiculite operations, and as hope that they too would receive justice. Now, the company’s petition to a federal appeals court puts that in jeopardy.
Though there is no doubt about the role that asbestos in BNSF Railway played in the mesothelioma deaths and the development of asbestos-related diseases in people who lived in Libby, the company is arguing that it is protected from liability by common carrier immunity, a federal law that protects railroad companies from responsibility for the impact of goods that they transport. The victims argued that BNSF went beyond simply transporting the product and instead worked in partnership with W.R. Grace & Co. to further its own profits.
W. R. Grace Vermiculite Transported by BNSF Railway Led to Mesothelioma Epidemic
Between 1999 and 2020, mesothelioma rates and asbestos deaths throughout the Libby area were more than 10 times higher than those of the state’s most populated counties, a fact blamed on the decades of local vermiculite mining operations that contaminated the rail yard and the area beyond, including baseball fields, household gardens, and popular gathering spots. Among the victims were the two former residents whose survivors were awarded $4 million each in damages, but whether they receive this compensation will await the outcome of BNSF Railway’s appeal.
Residents of Libby and the surrounding area continue to be frustrated by the long wait for justice, and the chance that the company responsible for contributing to Libby’s toxic legacy could escape accountability. Legal experts anticipate that the case could end up being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
