Dave Schmitt, a partner at Lamson Dugan & Murray LLP, secured summary judgment for BNSF Railway in two separate toxic tort lawsuits. The United States District Court for the District of Nebraska dismissed both cases finding they were time-barred by FELA’s three-year statute of limitations, 45 U.S.C. § 56. In Salstrand v. BNSF Ry., No. 4:20-cv-3146 (D. Neb. 2022), the plaintiff was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on March 3, 2014. [...]

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently held that a provision of the Federal Aviation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 44112, preempted state law negligence and strict liability claims brought against a former owner of an aircraft by the heirs of people who died in a plane crash.  See J.A.G.P. v. Aerolineas Damojh, S.A. de C.V., No. 1:19-CV-02552, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24858 (N.D. Ill. Feb. [...]

In Anderson v. Union Pac. R.R., 7:18-cv-5010 (July 6, 2020), the Nebraska federal court granted the defendant railroad’s motion for summary judgment on the statute of limitations in a toxic action filed under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. The plaintiff filed the action on August 21, 2018 claiming he was exposed to diesel exhaust and alleged toxic materials while he worked for the railroad which [...]

In a personal injury case it is important to secure all of the plaintiff’s medical records before taking a plaintiff’s deposition. Medical records are important to determine the nature and extent of the claimed injury. Reviewing medical records in detail will provide insight whether a plaintiff complained of the same or similar conditions before the subject incident. Medical records typically contain a patient’s history, including the date of onset and [...]

Railroad workers are filing FELA lawsuits against their former employers claiming they were exposed to alleged toxic substances during their railroad careers which caused them to develop cancer. Most of the plaintiffs are retired and developed cancer late in their lives. They claim their railroad employment from decades earlier is responsible. It is important when taking a plaintiff’s deposition in a toxic tort action to have the plaintiff be specific [...]