If you are a current or retired railroad worker who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you are facing a medical crisis and a legal situation that most personal injury lawyers have never handled. Railroad workers are not covered by state workers’ compensation. Instead, your rights are governed by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, a federal statute that has protected railroad employees since 1908. FELA gives you the right to sue your employer in court and to have a jury decide your case, but it also requires you to prove that the railroad was negligent. Asbestos cases add further difficulty because the exposure typically occurred decades ago and the railroad’s records from that era may have been archived or destroyed. The railroad and its defense counsel already know those rules.
At Greenberg Streich, PLLC, we’ve handled catastrophic injury and occupational disease cases across Texas for more than a decade, recovering over $375 million for injured workers and their families. We represent railroad workers and their families, not railroads or their insurance carriers. Every case is on contingency. No retainer, no hourly billing, no fee unless we recover.
If you need a FELA lawyer railroad workers and families can trust with a serious asbestos or occupational disease case, we are ready to listen and move quickly.
Why Choose Greenberg Streich, PLLC for FELA Cases?
Trial Experience in Catastrophic Injury and Disease Cases
Matt Greenberg has practiced personal injury law for 12 years and has served as lead trial counsel in cases that produced record-setting verdicts and settlements, including a $37.5 million wrongful death verdict in Dallas County and a $20 million oilfield burn settlement. He earned his J.D. at Baylor Law School and has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Lawdragon, and the National Trial Lawyers.
Mike Streich has represented injured workers for 13 years. He graduated cum laude from the Houston Law Center and is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers association. Before moving to the plaintiff side, Mike spent close to a decade defending corporations and insurance syndicates, including members of Lloyd’s of London, in catastrophic injury and death claims. That defense-side background gives him a working knowledge of how large corporate defendants, including Class I railroads and their carriers, investigate claims, retain defense medical consultants, and decide when to settle.
Results That Railroads Recognize
Our firm has recovered over $375 million for clients across Texas. Our case results include multiple seven and eight figure outcomes in occupational disease, workplace injury, and wrongful death matters for workers in heavily regulated industries.
Contingency Fee Representation
Railroad workers and their families dealing with a mesothelioma diagnosis should not be paying retainer checks while managing treatment. Our firm advances investigation costs, employment record retrieval, product identification research, and medical record analysis, and our attorney fees come out of the recovery only if we win.
Client Feedback
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “My family is forever grateful to Matt and Mike. They took on a complicated case that other firms passed on, stayed with us through every step, and got a result that gave our family real security for the future. I cannot say enough good things.”
Kristy Sims
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
We also handle broader personal injury matters from the same office when a FELA case overlaps with other practice areas.
Types of FELA and Asbestos Cases We Handle
Railroad workers across the country were exposed to asbestos for decades, and the resulting diseases are still being diagnosed today. Our firm handles the most serious categories of FELA and asbestos claims.
- FELA claims for railroad workers. The Federal Employers’ Liability Act covers all employees of common carriers by railroad engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. If you were injured or made ill in the course of your railroad employment, and your employer’s negligence played any part, you have the right to bring a civil action with the right to a jury trial. FELA claims cover traumatic injuries from derailments, switching accidents, falls, and equipment failures as well as occupational diseases like asbestos-related cancers. We handle FELA cases involving brain injuries, burn injuries, and other catastrophic harm.
- Asbestos exposure claims. Asbestos was used throughout the railroad industry for most of the twentieth century. Locomotive insulation, steam pipe lagging, brake shoes, gaskets, boiler room materials, and roundhouse flooring all contained asbestos. Workers who handled or worked near those materials inhaled fibers that, decades later, caused mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease.
- FELA asbestos cases (the intersection). When a railroad worker develops mesothelioma or another asbestos-related cancer from on-the-job exposure, the case sits at the intersection of FELA and asbestos law. The FELA claim runs against the railroad for failing to provide a reasonably safe workplace, while product liability claims may run against the manufacturers of the asbestos-containing products. These cases require a firm that understands both frameworks.
- Mesothelioma cases. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart, and it is almost always caused by asbestos exposure. The latency period is typically 20 to 40 years or longer. A mesothelioma diagnosis carries a median survival of approximately one year, and courts routinely grant expedited discovery and trial settings.
- Lung cancer and other cancers. Asbestos causes lung cancer independent of mesothelioma. Railroad workers who smoked and were also exposed to asbestos face a significantly elevated combined risk. Asbestos has also been linked to cancers of the larynx and ovaries.
- Asbestosis and pleural disease. Asbestosis is a chronic scarring of the lung tissue caused by prolonged asbestos inhalation. Pleural plaques, thickening, and effusions are related conditions that can produce significant respiratory impairment.
- Family and take-home asbestos claims. Railroad workers’ spouses and children exposed to asbestos fibers carried home on work clothes and equipment have developed mesothelioma and other diseases.
- Fatal FELA asbestos cases. When a railroad worker dies from mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, the personal representative may pursue a FELA wrongful death action for the benefit of the surviving spouse, children, parents, or dependent relatives.
Legal Requirements for FELA and Asbestos Claims
FELA and asbestos cases are governed by federal law, with specific rules that differ significantly from ordinary state-law personal injury claims. A handful of rules frame most files.
The Federal Employers’ Liability Act. Under 45 U.S.C. § 51, a railroad engaged in interstate or foreign commerce is liable in damages to any employee injured in the course of employment if the injury results in whole or in part from the railroad’s negligence. The causation standard is notably lighter than in ordinary negligence cases. Under Rogers v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., 352 U.S. 500 (1957), a case may go to the jury if the employer’s negligence played any part, even the slightest, in producing the injury or disease.
Statute of limitations. FELA actions must be commenced within three years from the day the cause of action accrued, as provided at 45 U.S.C. § 56. In asbestos cases, the accrual date is typically the date of diagnosis or the date the worker knew or should have known of the disease and its connection to asbestos. Time is particularly critical in mesothelioma cases because of the disease’s rapid progression, and we encourage workers and families to review our post-accident guide for an overview of the early steps that protect a file.
Comparative fault, not contributory negligence. Under 45 U.S.C. § 53, a railroad worker’s own negligence does not bar recovery but instead reduces the damages in proportion to the worker’s share of fault. This is more favorable than the 51 percent bar rule that applies in Texas state-law personal injury cases.
No assumption of risk defense. Under 45 U.S.C. § 54, the assumption of risk defense is abolished where the employer’s negligence contributed to the injury. This provision has particular force in asbestos cases, where railroads argue that workers knew about asbestos hazards.
Federal safety regulation. Railroad operations are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration under 49 U.S.C. § 20101 et seq. OSHA asbestos standards at 29 CFR 1910.1001, 1926.1101, and 1915.1001 govern permissible exposure limits, monitoring, medical surveillance, and hazard communication for asbestos across all industries.
Health and disease data. The National Cancer Institute and CDC mesothelioma data confirm that asbestos causes mesothelioma and is associated with cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovary, with a median survival of approximately one year from diagnosis.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a FELA Asbestos Case?
FELA allows injured railroad workers and the families of deceased workers to pursue several categories of damages. The available recovery depends on the severity of the disease, the employer’s conduct, and whether the worker is living or has died from the illness.
Economic damages. These include past and future medical expenses, surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, palliative care, prescription costs, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and, in fatal cases, the value of the financial support the worker would have provided to the surviving family. Serious mesothelioma cases often require a forensic economist and a life care planner to project costs accurately.
Non-economic damages. FELA allows recovery for physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life. For a mesothelioma patient facing a median survival of one year, the pain and loss of life’s ordinary pleasures are frequently the largest element of the case. In wrongful death actions, surviving spouses and children may recover for pecuniary losses, including the loss of the worker’s care and guidance.
Punitive damages. Punitive damages are generally not available in a FELA negligence action, but may be recoverable against product manufacturers in separate asbestos product liability claims where the manufacturer’s conduct rises to the level required under applicable state law. Our Texas legal changes discussion addresses how evolving case law affects damages in occupational disease matters, and our catastrophic injury checklist covers questions that arise at a first meeting.
If the worker was also exposed to asbestos at a refinery, chemical plant, shipyard, or other non-railroad worksite, additional claims may apply under state personal injury law or federal maritime law.
Contact Greenberg Streich, PLLC
A mesothelioma or asbestos-related cancer diagnosis can reshape a family’s future in an instant. You deserve a firm that takes the case as seriously as you do. Our attorneys will listen carefully, review the evidence, and give you an honest assessment of your options, including whether a lawsuit is the right next step.
Consultations are free. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you. We respond to calls and form submissions promptly, and we can meet in person, by phone, or by video, whichever works best for you.
Contact us today to speak with a FELA lawyer about your railroad asbestos case and what comes next.
