Asbestos Railroad Claims (FELA)
In 1924, Nellie Kershaw became the first person known to die from asbestosis. She started spinning asbestos threads in an English asbestos mill at age 12. By 33, she was dead. Her employer, Turner & Newall, denied any responsibility. They refused to pay for her care. They refused to pay for her funeral. She died young, sick, and penniless, while the company that profited from her labor faced no consequences and the owners of the company grew wealthy.
For nearly fifty years, that was the norm. Asbestos companies made fortunes while workers died painful deaths, their families left with nothing.
Then came Clarence Borel.
Borel was a Gulf Coast insulator who spent 33 years breathing asbestos dust in refineries and chemical plants. When he was diagnosed with asbestosis and mesothelioma, he did something no one had done successfully before: he sued the asbestos manufacturers and won. Clarence died in 1970, before his case went to trial. His wife Thelma continued the fight. In 1973, the Fifth Circuit ruled in her favor.
This was the first appellate decision holding asbestos manufacturers liable for failing to warn workers. That ruling changed everything. For the first time, families could file wrongful death lawsuits when asbestos took someone they loved.
Read how one man's case opened the door for thousands of families.
What Is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
A wrongful death lawsuit allows surviving family members to seek compensation when a loved one dies from an asbestos-related disease, such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis.
Learn more about the diseases asbestos can cause.
When someone dies from asbestos exposure, the harm doesn't end with them. Families lose income. They lose companionship. They lose a parent, a spouse, a provider. Wrongful death lawsuits address those losses directly. Wrongful death claims are filed by the family for their losses, not the victim's.
These claims are often filed alongside other types of asbestos claims. A survival claim recovers compensation for what the victim endured before death. Trust claims recover money from the bankruptcy funds established by former asbestos manufacturers. Product and premises liability lawsuits target companies that are still solvent. Together, these claims ensure that every responsible party is held accountable and that families receive the full compensation they're entitled to.
See all the legal options available to families.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Who can file an asbestos wrongful death lawsuit and how damages are distributed depends on which state the lawsuit is filed in. But most states recognize the same core categories of eligible family members.
Spouses. Surviving spouses almost always have the right to file. They typically receive priority for both economic damages (lost income, lost benefits) and noneconomic damages (loss of companionship, emotional distress).
Children. Biological and adopted children can usually file, including adult children. Minor children often receive priority for loss of parental guidance, but adult children may also recover for emotional loss and grief.
Parents. If the deceased was unmarried and had no children, parents may be eligible to file in some states.
Other Dependents or Heirs. Siblings, grandchildren, or other relatives may qualify in certain states—particularly if they were financially dependent on the deceased or named in a will.
The Estate's Role. In many states, the wrongful death lawsuit must be filed by the estate rather than individual family members. A court-appointed representative (usually called an executor or administrator) files on behalf of the family, and any recovery is distributed according to the will or state law.
Because these rules vary so much, working with attorneys who understand the laws in your state is critical. We handle wrongful death cases nationwide and know how to ensure your claim is filed correctly, every eligible family member is included, and your rights are fully protected.
See how the laws work in your state.
What Compensation Is Available?
Wrongful death lawsuits compensate families for both the financial and emotional losses caused by an asbestos-related death. The Borel case illustrates every category of damages families can recover.
Economic Damages cover measurable financial losses such as medical bills incurred before death, funeral and burial expenses, and the income and benefits the deceased would have provided.
By the time Clarence Borel filed his lawsuit in 1969, his medical and hospital bills had reached several thousand dollars. His workers' compensation settlement covered only a fraction of that. He was earning $5.45 an hour as a union insulator when his illness forced him to stop working—wages his family would never recover. After he died, Thelma faced funeral expenses on top of everything else, without the income Clarence had provided for 36 years of marriage.
Noneconomic Damages address the human losses that don't come with receipts, such as the loss of companionship, loss of consortium, and the emotional devastation of watching someone you love die.
Thelma Borel spent her husband's final months watching him waste away on their living room couch. The man who once wanted to field a baseball team with his nineteen grandchildren couldn't walk across the room. He weighed less than a hundred pounds. She gave him morphine shots for the pain. When defense attorneys came to their tiny house in Groves, Texas to depose her dying husband, Thelma served them coffee.
Survival Damages compensate for what the victim suffered between diagnosis and death, including the pain, the lost wages, and the diminished quality of life during their final months or years. These damages are awarded to the estate and distributed to the heirs.
Clarence's final year was defined by suffering. Surgeons removed his right lung. He survived on cream of wheat, Jello, and beef bouillon because he couldn't swallow solid food. He couldn't sit up for more than ten minutes without the room spinning. His deposition had to be conducted in one-hour increments—all his failing body could endure—while attorneys for eleven asbestos manufacturers interrogated him from his own couch. Survival damages ensure that what he went through is part of the recovery, not just what his family lost after he was gone.
Punitive Damages are awarded when a company's conduct was outrageous, such as knowingly concealing the dangers of asbestos to protect profits.
The asbestos manufacturers Clarence sued had known for decades that their products were killing workers. Some had conducted animal studies proving it. Owens-Illinois tested Kaylo insulation years before bringing it to market and concluded it was "a first-class hazard." They sold it anyway, for decades, without a word of warning.
Wrongful Death vs. Survival Claims
These two claim types are often confused, but they compensate for different things.
Wrongful death claims compensate the family for their losses after the death: lost income they depended on, lost companionship, lost parental guidance, and the grief of losing someone they love. These are the family's injuries, and the family recovers for them directly.
Survival claims compensate for what the victim endured before death: the pain of the disease, the wages lost while they were too sick to work, the suffering between diagnosis and the end. These damages belong to the victim's estate and are distributed to heirs according to the will or state law.
In Thelma Borel's case, both types of claims applied. Clarence had originally filed a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturers of the asbestos insulation he worked with for decades. When he died before trial, Thelma was substituted as plaintiff and the case continued as a wrongful death product liability suit.
Learn about product liability claims.
Today Clarence's family would also be able to file claims against premises owners and asbestos trusts. Together, product liability lawsuits, premises liability lawsuits, and asbestos trust claims form a comprehensive strategy that holds every responsible party accountable.
Learn about premises liability claims. | Learn about trust claims.
The Legacy of Taking Action
Some families hesitate to file a lawsuit because they were raised to believe that suing is wrong. Clarence Borel felt that way too. But Clarence realized something important. If he didn't speak up, his coworkers would go through the same thing he did. So he sued. Not for himself, but to protect his friends and coworkers who worked with him.
Clarence would be proud to know his decision is still protecting people over 50 years later.
A few years ago, we began representing a man who had lived just down the street from Clarence Borel in Groves, Texas. He worked at many of the same Gulf Coast refineries that Clarence did, but in the 1970s, after Clarence's career had ended. We used Clarence's own deposition testimony to prove that the same asbestos products his crew installed decades earlier were still present when our client worked there.
One man's decision to take a stand created evidence that's still being used in courtrooms today.
Learn more about how we build cases other firms can't.
Take the First Step
Wrongful death claims have strict deadlines. Every state sets its own statute of limitations, and the clock often starts running from the date of death—not when you find out asbestos was the cause. Once that deadline passes, your family may lose the right to file, no matter how strong the case.
"I know what it means to miss that window. I lost my father and two grandparents to asbestos-related cancers. By the time I became an attorney and understood what legal options should have been available, it was too late. The statute of limitations had run. I never got justice for my own family. I won't let that happen to yours." — Justinian Lane. Read my story.
If you've lost someone you love to mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis, the time to act is now. When you contact us for a free consultation, we'll listen to your story, explain which claims apply to your family's situation, and answer your questions about what comes next. If you decide to move forward, we handle everything so your family can focus on healing.
The consultation is free. There's no obligation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for your family.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS (833-427-2378) or schedule your free consultation online.