Railway Employees Lose High Court Mesothelioma Battle
Mesothelioma patients who believe the railway industry is to blame for their disease have lost an important battle in the Supreme Court. The railway industry has long been a dangerous one, made even more so by the widespread use of toxic asbestos. Steam locomotives, used by many railroads as late as the 1960’s, used asbestos, not only in the liner around the engine, but around the boiler, on the outside as ‘lagging’, and even in the engine cab. More recently, some diesel locomotives have been found to contain asbestos gaskets. Asbestos was also used in most train brake shoes through the 1990’s. Asbestos causes mesothelioma a rare but aggressive cancer. The case before the U.S. Supreme Court was that of George Corson, a welder and…