BECKLEY – A former CSX employee blames the rail company for his cancer diagnosis.
Jessie W. Vest filed his lawsuit against CSX Transportation Inc. in Raleigh Circuit Court.
According to his complaint, Vest says he worked for the defendant from April 1977 to August 1994, primarily as a trackman at the New River District Shop in Montgomery in Raleigh County.
Vest, who lives in Camp Creek, says he was exposed on a daily basis to diesel fuel, diesel exhaust that contains benzene, silica, herbicides, pesticides, secondhand smoke and other occupational fumes, dusts, gases and cancer-causing agents during his time with CSX.
He says this constant contact with such toxic substances led to his development of Renal Cell Carcinoma.
Vest says CSX negligently used “known cancer-causing materials” and pleads the discovery rule. He says he did not discover his cancer was related to his work until he was diagnosed in October 2019.
He accuses CSX of Federal Employer Liability Act negligence for failing to provide him with a safe work environment, failing to provide safe tools and equipment such as facial masks, failing to warn of hazardous effects of exposure, failing to ask suppliers about hazardous materials, failing to reduce exposure, failing to test for toxic substances, failing to test his health, failing to require use of safe handling methods, failing to enforce a safety plan, failing to safely remove toxins, failing to publish a safety plan, failing to adequately care for the health and safety of employees, failing to prevent unsafe practices from becoming standard and failing to provide a toxin-free work environment.
He says CSX’s negligence caused his injuries that required medical attention and medical care. He says he has sustained a loss of future benefits, including loss of pension benefits because of his reduced life expectancy. He says he also suffers from a fear of death because of his cancer diagnosis.
Vest seeks special damages for past medical expenses, past and future loss of earnings or earning capacity, past and future pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
He is being represented by James C. Wright and R. Dean Hartley of Hartley Law Group in Wheeling. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Robert A. Burnside.
Raleigh Circuit Court case number 20-C-130