Capitol Beat

Sunday, April 13th, 2003 Auto Legislation & Regulation Liability Life & Health

Railway workers who suffer from asbestosis may be awarded pain and suffering damages for their fear of developing cancer in the future, the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided in a 5-4 decision. “We hold that a railroad worker suffering from asbestosis can recover for the heightened anxiety he experiences because of his vulnerability to a more dread disease,” wrote Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the majority opinion. A West Virginia jury had awarded $5.8 million to six retired railway workers with asbestosis in Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Ayers et al. The plaintiffs, who contended that the railroad had failed to provide them with a reasonably safe workplace, sought damages for emotional stress.

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http://www.claimsmag.com/Issues/Apr03/capitolbeat.asp

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