What is Specific Causation?
The question of whether there is Specific Causation is simply asking “did this specific railroad worker’s cancer result from his or her workplace exposures?” This analysis is done by qualified professionals such as occupational medicine doctors, pulmonologists, oncologists, and epidemiologists.
They do this analysis by looking at the individual worker.
Differential Etiology: How Doctors Analyze Specific Causation.
Doctors use a process called differential etiology to do this analysis. Performing a differential etiology means identifying all possible causes of a condition, ruling out all causes that do not fit this individual worker’s circumstances, and determining which exposures most likely contributed to the individual worker’s condition.
Differential etiology is a standard technique used in medicine for identifying the cause of a medical condition. At Hughes Law Offices, we often rely on multiple experts to help the medical doctor make the specific causation determination.
Step 1: Identify the Worker’s Exposure
In railroad cancer cases, generally our medical doctor, with the assistance of an exposure assessment analysis performed by an industrial hygienist, will consider:
- Years worked on the railroad
- Job titles and duties
- Routes and locations worked
- Time spent in locomotive cabs and enclosed workspaces
- Exposure to
- Diesel exhaust
- Secondhand smoke
- Silica sand
- Asbestos
- Welding fumes
- Chemicals and solvents
Step 2: Evaluate Known Carcinogens
Railroad Workers have historically been exposed to multiple carcinogens, including:
Diesel Exhaust
- Classified as a known human carcinogen
- Common in locomotive cabs, tunnels, yards, and shops
- Often inhaled for decades while working on railroads
Secondhand Cigarette Smoke
- Causes lung cancer in non-smokers
- Extremely common in locomotive cabs and buildings for decades
- Often combined and inhaled with diesel exhaust
Silica Sand
- Known to cause lung cancer
- Used in locomotive sanders
- Inhaled during sanding, track work, and the cleanup of locomotives
Asbestos
- Known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma
- Present in insulation, brake dust, and locomotive shops
- Risk of lung cancer increases when combined with smoking or inhalation of diesel exhaust
Welding Fumes
- Contains metals and carcinogens
- Common in railroad shops and yards
Step 3: Consider Duration and Intensity
Doctors, industrial hygienists, and epidemiologists will closely consider
- How many years was the worker exposed
- How often exposure occurred over this time
- Whether exposures were daily, intermittent, or constant
- Whether exposures occurred in enclosed spaces
- Whether the exposures are comparable to those in the epidemiology studies
Railroad work often consists of 8 to 12-hour shifts, 5 to 6 days per week, over a 30 to 40-year career.
Step 4: Rule out Other Causes
Doctors will also evaluate other possible causes of the workers’ condition, such as:
- Medical history/comorbidities
- Smoking history
- Secondhand smoke at home
- Other environmental exposures
- Other jobs
It is important to note that many railroad workers never smoked cigarettes, while others quit smoking decades before their diagnosis. And workplace exposure often remains the strongest risk factor after these analyses are done.
If a client’s past smoking played a part in causing the cancer, our experts will rule that in and combine it with the other exposures at the railroad. At trial, a jury may choose to reduce the verdict amount to the extent that the cancer may have been partially caused by the worker’s own negligence.
Step 5: Assess Combined and Synergistic Effects
Cancer is often caused by multiple exposures working together. Doctors recognize
- Smoking combined with diesel exhaust exposure increases lung cancer risk
- Smoking combined with asbestos exposure greatly increases lung cancer risk
Exposure to multiple carcinogens, as railroad workers often are, compounds the danger of being diagnosed with cancer
Specific Causation in Trials
At trial, doctors and experts explain:
- Why the workers’ exposure history matters
- Why the timing of the workers’ exposure and their diagnosis makes sense
- Why workplace exposures are most likely the cause of the condition
- Why railroad arguments about permissible levels of exposure miss the point
Under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), the railroad is at fault if its negligence played ANY PART, even a small one, in causing a worker’s cancer.
The Bottom Line
To prove a railroad cancer claim, you must show:
- General Causation – the exposure can cause the cancer
- Specific Causation – the exposure did cause this worker’s cancer
Medical Causation is critical in railroad cancer claims under FELA. The railroad defense attorneys have developed arguments that have resulted in plaintiffs’ experts being barred from testifying. When that happens, the case is over.
Hughes Law Offices understands how railroads challenge scientific evidence. We work with qualified medical experts and evaluate exposure history to present causation evidence in a way that juries understand and that railroads cannot dismiss. If you suspect that your cancer diagnosis is work-related, call Hughes Law Offices or reach out online today for a free case evaluation.
