If you spent years working for a railroad and have since been diagnosed with cancer, you may be entitled to compensation.
Cory Watson Attorneys is investigating claims on behalf of current and former railroad workers — engineers, conductors, carmen, machinists, trackmen, welders, and other crafts — who developed cancer after occupational exposure to diesel exhaust, benzene, asbestos, creosote, silica dust, and other hazardous substances used or generated on the job.
What Is a FELA Claim?
The Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51, is a federal law that allows railroad workers injured or sickened on the job to sue their employer for damages. Unlike state workers’ compensation systems, which pay no-fault benefits on a fixed schedule, FELA is a fault-based statute: an injured worker must show the railroad’s negligence played at least some part, however small, in causing the illness.
Because FELA does not cap damages the way workers’ compensation does, it can allow railroad workers and their families to recover compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, lost future earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
Why Are Railroad Workers at Risk for Cancer?
For decades, railroad workers who maintained track, roadbed, bridges, and equipment were regularly exposed to carcinogenic substances, often without respirators or other protective equipment. Common occupational exposures linked to railroad work include:
- Diesel exhaust from locomotives and rail yard equipment
- Benzene from fuels, solvents, and degreasers
- Asbestos in locomotive insulation, brake linings, and gaskets
- Welding fumes
- Industrial solvents
- Creosote-treated railroad ties
- Silica dust from ballast rock
- Herbicides and pesticides used along rights-of-way
- Airborne heavy metals, including manganese and lead
Railroads have known of many of these hazards for decades — industry and medical literature on the cancer risks of substances like asbestos and benzene dates back to the early-to-mid 20th century. Despite this, workers say railroads often failed to warn employees, monitor exposure levels, test for toxic substances, or provide basic protective equipment.
Cancers and Illnesses Linked to Railroad Work
Occupational exposure on the railroad has been associated with a range of serious illnesses, including:
- Kidney cancer
- Lung cancer, particularly in non-smokers
- Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism, particularly with welding exposure
- Leukemia and other blood cancers
- Lymphoma
- Multiple myeloma
- Bladder cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Colorectal cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Laryngeal and esophageal cancer
- COPD, Welder's Lung, and silicosis
- Other blood and solid-organ cancers
Kidney cancer, Parkinson's disease linked to welding exposure, and lung cancer in non-smokers are among the strongest qualifying diagnoses we review, though we evaluate all of the illnesses above and others tied to railroad exposure. These illnesses often take years or even decades to develop, so many workers are not diagnosed until long after they have retired.
How Can Occupational Exposure Cause Cancer?
Unlike a sudden workplace accident, occupational cancer typically develops after repeated, cumulative exposure to carcinogens over months, years, or decades. Railroad workers who spent their careers in locomotive cabs, rail yards, and maintenance shops may have inhaled diesel exhaust and benzene vapors, or come into regular contact with asbestos fibers, silica dust, and creosote-treated wood, on a daily basis.
Railroads are required to provide their employees with a reasonably safe place to work. When a railroad knew or should have known about the cancer risks posed by these substances and failed to warn workers, monitor exposure, or provide protective equipment, injured workers and their families may have grounds for a FELA claim.
Do You Have a Case?
Typical qualifying criteria include:
- 10+ years working for a railroad
- 10+ years of exposure to toxic substances such as diesel exhaust, asbestos, benzene, welding fumes, solvents, creosote, silica, herbicides, lead, and other industrial chemicals
- Diagnosis within the last three years, or you recently learned the disease may be related to your railroad employment
Kidney cancer, Parkinson's disease (particularly with welding exposure), and lung cancer in non-smokers are among our strongest qualifying diagnoses. We also review leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, bladder cancer, mesothelioma, colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, and several other blood and solid-organ cancers.
Potential legal claims may involve:
- Railroad negligence under FELA
- Failure to warn workers of known cancer risks
- Failure to provide a reasonably safe workplace
- Failure to provide protective equipment, such as respirators
- Failure to monitor or test for hazardous exposure levels
Under FELA, railroad workers generally have three years to file a claim. For cancer and other illnesses that develop gradually, that deadline typically begins when a worker discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the illness and its connection to their railroad work — not necessarily the date of last exposure.
A Growing Wave of FELA Cancer Litigation
Railroad workers nationwide are beginning to file FELA claims over cancer diagnoses linked to decades of occupational exposure. In July 2026, a retired Norfolk Southern track laborer filed suit in Pennsylvania state court alleging the railroad failed to warn or protect him from carcinogens including diesel exhaust, benzene, and creosote over a 40-year career. His attorneys have stated the case could be the first in a wave of similar lawsuits, estimating that hundreds of former railroad workers across all crafts may have viable claims.
Juries have already shown a willingness to hold railroads accountable for occupational cancer. In one case, a jury awarded $21.8 million to the estate of a railroad worker who developed leukemia after long-term exposure to diesel exhaust and creosote.
How Cory Watson Attorneys Can Help
For more than 45 years, Cory Watson Attorneys has represented individuals and families harmed by dangerous consumer products, defective medical devices, and corporate negligence.
Our attorneys have served in leadership roles in major nationwide litigation involving defective products and understand the complexities of product liability cases. We are committed to helping families pursue accountability and seek compensation for the injuries they have suffered.
About Cory Watson Attorneys
Cory Watson Attorneys is a nationally recognized personal injury law firm with offices in Birmingham, Memphis, and Nashville.
The firm has recovered more than $4 Billion for clients nationwide and has extensive experience handling complex product liability and mass tort litigation.
Get Started Today
If you worked for a railroad and were diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness after on-the-job exposure to diesel exhaust, benzene, asbestos, creosote, or other hazardous substances, you may have legal options.
Contact Cory Watson Attorneys today for a free, no-obligation consultation to learn whether you may qualify to pursue a claim.