Facts
- Six former railroad employees sued their employer under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), alleging negligent workplace asbestos exposure caused them to develop asbestosis.
- Each plaintiff sought damages for pain and suffering, including mental anguish based on fear of developing cancer in the future.
- The trial court instructed that a plaintiff could recover for a reasonable fear of cancer if the fear was related to a proven asbestos-caused physical injury.
- The trial court also instructed the jury not to reduce damages based on non-railroad asbestos exposure if the railroad’s negligence contributed, however slightly, to the injury.
- The railroad requested instructions (1) barring fear-of-cancer damages absent proof of actual likelihood of cancer and physical manifestations of fear, and (2) requiring apportionment of damages among multiple sources of asbestos exposure; both requests were denied.
- The jury awarded approximately $5.8 million total, without itemizing any portion for fear of cancer.
- State appellate review was denied; the Supreme Court granted review on fear-of-cancer damages and apportionment under FELA.
Issues
- Whether a worker with actionable asbestosis caused in whole or in part by the railroad’s negligence may recover, under FELA, damages for mental anguish based on a reasonable fear of developing cancer.
- Whether FELA requires apportionment of damages among multiple contributing tortfeasors, or instead permits the worker to recover full damages from the railroad whose negligence contributed to the injury.
Decision
- The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for the employees.
- The Court held that a plaintiff with asbestosis may recover damages for a reasonable fear of developing cancer as part of pain and suffering.
- The Court rejected a requirement that plaintiffs prove quantified likelihood of cancer or physical manifestations of fear as separate prerequisites to recovery.
- The Court held that FELA permits joint and several liability and does not require the jury to apportion damages between the railroad and other potential asbestos contributors; contribution, if available, is pursued separately.
Legal Principles
- Under FELA, emotional distress damages are recoverable when they accompany or result from a present, actionable physical injury caused in whole or in part by the railroad’s negligence.
- For asbestosis plaintiffs, fear-of-cancer damages are permitted when the fear is genuine, serious, and reasonable, and stems from the existing disease.
- FELA’s causation standard (“in whole or in part”) allows liability where the railroad’s negligence contributed even slightly to the injury.
- In cases of concurrent causation, FELA incorporates the common-law rule allowing full recovery from a liable defendant without mandatory apportionment among multiple tortfeasors; allocation disputes are handled through contribution or indemnity proceedings.
Conclusion
A worker who proves railroad-caused asbestosis may recover damages for reasonable fear of future cancer as part of pain and suffering, and the railroad may be held jointly and severally liable for the full injury without jury apportionment among other sources of asbestos exposure.