Louisiana Federal Court Tosses Tally Man’s Asbestos Exposure Claims Against Railroad

Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana dismissed state common law tort claims brought by a husband and wife against a railroad for injury to the husband as a result of exposure to products containing asbestos.  At the time of the alleged exposure, the husband worked for Baton Rouge or the Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission as a tally man in shipyards along the Mississippi River.  His job required boarding railcars under the custody or control of the railroad to inspect, count, tally, and verify cargo placed or to be placed in the railcars.  The plaintiffs sued multiple defendants and alleged that the railroad in particular “failed to act reasonable to protect the public, including Petitioner, from coming into contact with asbestos on its trains and their cars and components” and failed to warn the husband of the dangers associated with working with or around products containing asbestos.

In the railroad’s motion to dismiss, it argued that plaintiffs’ claims failed as a matter of law because, as an interstate carrier, it owed no duty to protect the worker from hazardous cargo, but was instead charged only with inspecting its railcars to ensure that they could safely transport their contents from point to point.  Finding no authority imposing a legal duty upon a railroad carrier under the facts presented, the court granted the railroad’s motion and dismissed plaintiffs’ claims.