A federal jury has found that BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago in Libby, Montana. The jury awarded $4 million each to the estates of the two plaintiffs, who died in 2020.
The jury found that asbestos that spilled in the rail yard in Libby was a substantial factor in the plaintiffs’ illnesses and deaths. However, the jury did not find that BNSF acted intentionally or with indifference, so there will be no punitive damages awarded.
BNSF said its employees didn’t know the vermiculite was filled with hazardous microscopic asbestos fibers. The case in federal civil court over the two deaths was the first of numerous lawsuits against the Texas-based railroad corporation to reach trial over its past operations in Libby.
Current and former residents of the small town near the U.S.-Canada border want BNSF held accountable, accusing it of playing a role in asbestos exposure that health officials say has killed several hundred people and sickened thousands.
The railroad said it was obliged under law to ship the vermiculite, which was used in insulation and for other commercial purposes, and that W.R. Grace employees had concealed the health hazards from the railroad.
Looming over the proceedings was W.R. Grace, which operated a mountaintop vermiculite mine 7 miles (11 kilometers) outside of Libby until it closed in 1990. The Maryland-based company played a central role in Libby’s tragedy and has paid significant settlements to victims.
The seven-member federal jury had been instructed to decide if the railroad was at fault in the deaths and if so, the amount of damages to award to their estates. A separate proceeding would be needed to determine the amount of any punitive damages.
A second trial against the railroad over the death of a Libby resident is scheduled for May in federal court in Missoula.
