Jury Finds BNSF Railway Liable for Asbestos-Related Deaths in Montana

A federal jury awarded $4 million each to the estates of two victims exposed to asbestos through BNSF Railway operations in Libby, Montana.

A federal jury determined BNSF Railway's role in the deaths of two individuals exposed to asbestos in Libby, Montana, awarding $8 million in total compensatory damages.
The jury did not find BNSF acted with intentional misconduct, thus no punitive damages were awarded.
The case marks the first of several lawsuits against BNSF concerning its past activities in transporting asbestos-tainted vermiculite.
Health officials link the asbestos exposure in Libby to several hundred deaths and thousands of illnesses over decades.
A second trial involving another victim from Libby is scheduled for May.