Jason Clark’s struggle with lamellar pleural thickening—a debilitating asbestos-related disease distinct from mesothelioma but equally devastating—reveals that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) and its parent company Berkshire Hathaway are employing manipulation tactics that echo those asbestos companies have used for decades against asbestos exposure victims.
Lamellar Pleural Thickening Victims Face Similar Obstacles as Mesothelioma Patients
Though both diseases result from asbestos exposure and both attack the pleural lining, lamellar pleural thickening differs from mesothelioma. As detailed in a recent Hayden Blackford Substack titled “Behind Closed Doors,” lamellar pleural thickening causes layers of scar tissue to form on the pleural membrane. While not cancerous, it causes chronic pain, breathing difficulties, and progressive disability, as well as increased mesothelioma risk since both conditions stem from asbestos fibers lodging in pleural tissue. Notably, lamellar pleural thickening has been specifically linked to the toxic amphibole asbestos from Libby, Montana,
Mr. Clark’s grandfather worked at W.R. Grace’s Libby vermiculite mine, and each day his dusty work clothes spread deadly asbestos fibers throughout the family home. This combination of occupational and secondary exposure created multi-generational mesothelioma and asbestos disease tragedies: Nine of Clark’s aunts and uncles contracted asbestos diseases; six have died. His grandparents both died from asbestos exposure, and now he’s been diagnosed with another asbestos-related disease. But according to Mr. Blackford, as Clark and others affected by lamellar pleural thickening struggle for compensation for the harm that’s been done to them, they face overwhelming legal manipulation that mirrors decades of similar actions on the part of asbestos companies.
BNSF’s Mesothelioma-Style Corporate Tactics: Deny, Delay, Profit
Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad has been the defendant in multiple claims filed by mesothelioma and lamellar pleural thickening victims. The company has been accused of knowingly exposing Libby residents to asbestos while shipping 500 tons daily of contaminated insulation through downtown. Studies have shown that this led to contamination levels 150,000 times EPA safe limits—yet BNSF continues fighting victims in court rather than compensating them.
Its legal strategy mirrors what asbestos defendants have relied on for decades: challenging the very existence of victims’ diseases, attacking doctors’ diagnoses, and forcing plaintiffs dying of mesothelioma and other illnesses through endless litigation. In recent years, BNSF has spent nearly $1.5 million suing a clinic specifically established for victims of Libby, Montana asbestos called the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD clinic), asserting that lamellar pleural thickening doesn’t exist and that — despite over 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles validating the condition — Clark and hundreds of others suffer from “false diagnoses.”
Corporation Profits from Delaying Compensation for Victims of Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos Diseases
BNSF’s parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, has accumulated $2.384 billion in asbestos liability reserves—money meant to compensate mesothelioma and asbestos disease victims. Instead of promptly paying claims, it invests these reserves, profiting from “float” while victims suffer and die waiting for compensation. It’s been alleged that BNSF has earned hundreds of millions investing these reserves at over 11% returns across twenty years of litigation, deliberately delaying payments to maximize profits while refusing to offer settlements and forcing victims to trial.
Whether victims suffer mesothelioma, lamellar pleural thickening, or other asbestos diseases, they’ve faced identical injustice as massively profitable corporations use legal manipulation to avoid accountability. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and you need help, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-693-8608.
