(The Associated Press distributed the following article by Lawrence Messina on December 5.)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that federal law trumps the West Virginia injury claims filed by more than 3,500 railroad workers against the makers of locomotive products that contained asbestos
The opinion written by Justice Warren McGraw said the U.S. Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act clearly governs issues arising from the use of railroad brakes and other parts that featured the deadly fiber.
“Congress has occupied the field of railroad safety so pervasively that plaintiffs claims against the defendants are pre-empted,” McGraw wrote. “We do not reach this conclusion lightly, but find any other path blocked by an avalanche of adverse authority from other jurisdictions, both state and federal.”
Several parts makers, including American Standard and Railroad Friction Products Corp., argued the federal law immunized them against part of a consolidated mass of circuit court lawsuits alleging harmful exposure to asbestos.
Hancock County Circuit Judge Martin Gaughan had ruled that the laws did not pre-empt the state claims, but agreed to pose the matter as “certified questions” to the Supreme Court.
Because it resists heat and flame, asbestos was used in such products as railroad brakes and steam generators. When inhaled, its fibers can cause several ailments including mesothelioma, an inoperable form of lung cancer.
Tens of thousands of lawsuits have been filed nationwide over asbestos use. A number allege some companies hid knowledge of its harms for much of the last century.
Lawyers for the suing workers alleged that the state lawsuits would provide the only remedy for some of the claimants. Thursday’s ruling said that all can file claims under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, which also governs railroad workers.
Monongalia Circuit Judge Robert Stone sat in for Justice Robin Davis, whose husband represents workers in the consolidated case.