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A respiratory therapist left, conducts a pulmonary test on a woman at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease, April 4, 2024, in Libby, Mont. The clinic has diagnosed thousands of people with asbestos-related disease following contamination from a nearby mine for vermiculite. A federal jury on Monday, April 22, said BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths in 2020 of two people who were exposed to asbestos in the Libby area decades ago. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Jury: BNSF Railway contributed to 2 deaths in Montana town where asbestos sickened thousands

A federal jury says BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shipped through a Montana town where thousands have been sickened

By AMY BETH HANSON and MATTHEW BROWN
Published - Apr 22, 2024, 08:30 PM ET
Last Updated - Apr 22, 2024, 08:30 PM EDT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal jury on Monday said BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shipped through a Montana town where thousands have been sickened.

The jury awarded $4 million each in compensatory damages to the estates of the two plaintiffs, who died in 2020. Jurors said asbestos-contaminated vermiculite that spilled in the rail yard in the town of Libby, Montana was a substantial factor in the plaintiffs’ illnesses and deaths.

Family members of the two victims hugged their attorneys after the verdict was announced. An attorney for the plaintiffs said the ruling brought some accountability, but one family member told The Associated Press that no amount of money would replace her lost sister.

“I’d rather have her than all the money in the world,” Judith Hemphill said of her sister, Joyce Walder.

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