HELENA, Mont. (AP) — BNSF Railway attorneys are expected to argue before jurors Friday that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program.
Attorneys for the company say the corporate predecessors of the railroad, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, didn’t know the vermiculite they hauled over decades from a nearby mine was filled with hazardous microscopic asbestos fibers.
The case in federal civil court over the two deaths is the first of numerous lawsuits against the Texas-based railroad corporation to reach trial over its past operations in Libby, Montana. Current and former residents of the small town near the U.S.-Canada border want BNSF held accountable for its alleged role in asbestos exposure that health officials say has killed several hundred people and sickened thousands.
Cycling star Evenepoel targets June return from crash ahead of Tour de France and Paris Olympics
Tourism featuring ASEAN cultures heats up in border region
Messi sidelined for Argentina friendlies with injury
Tesla recalling nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks because accelerator pedal can get stuck
Quan, Wang add two golds for China at diving World Cup
China's Hou breaks world record at IWF World Cup
Lacazette ready to play for Lyon against PSG after face injury
Teixeira brace sees Shanghai go top in CSL
BP defeated thousands of suits by sick Gulf spill cleanup workers. But not one by a boat captain
Emperor Qinshihuang's museum launches online ticket platform for overseas tourists