Personal Injury
Welding Rod Injury Lawyers
Illinois and Missouri

Excerpt from

Railroad Welders, Lung Disease, and the FELA
by William P. Gavin
Trial February 1993

Employees of a railroad operating in interstate commerce who claim injury during the course of employment must seek damages under the Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA), the Safety Appliance Act, or the Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act. Employees who worked as welders and later developed lung cancer or other lung disease may be entitled to compensation under the FELA. Railroads have known for a long time that electric arc welding produces noxious and toxic fumes.

Railroad welding has been and is performed under a wide range of circumstances, including working indoors and within confined spaces. Numerous studies have established a substantially increased incidence of lung cancer among welders. The fumes are known to cause or contribute to several types of lung disease, including cancer.

Siderosis. This is an accumulation of iron particles in the lungs.

Metal fume fever. This is a temporary condition characterized by cough, chest pain, a feeling of pressure in the chest, fever, malaise, and nausea.

Pulmonary edema. This is the abnormal accumulation of fluid in the air spaces and air passages of the lungs; the condition has been linked to exposure to welding fumes.