A federal court played a video of an asbestos victim’s last words during a wrongful death lawsuit against Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway, ABC News reported.
Thomas Wells, a 65-year-old retired middle school teacher, died of lung cancer mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos, according to ABC News. Wells had led an active life, running half-marathons and playing volleyball into his sixties, only to be fatally affected by the railway.
“I’m in great pain and alls I see is this getting worse,” Wells said in a video deposition recorded in March 2020, four months after being diagnosed with cancer.
During the deposition, Wells recounted his time working for the U.S. Forest Service in Libby during the late 1970s and early ’80s, and he described the dusty conditions around the rail yard where contaminated vermiculite was frequently transported. “It was dusty. You know, you’d wash the car and pretty soon you have to wash the car again,” Wells said.
Portions of Thomas Wells deposition were replayed Monday in a federal courtroom for a jury hearing a wrongful death case against Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway. Wells was diagnosed with mesothelioma at 65, which is lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. https://t.co/rgj5bAiT7A
— NBC Montana (@NBCMontana) April 15, 2024
The trial marks a chapter in the long-standing battle against asbestos pollution in Libby, a town transformed by the deadly mineral, the outlet stated. Federal officials designated Libby as a Superfund site over two decades ago, after reports surfaced of the health impacts on miners and their families. The town has since seen over 3,000 residents fall ill and hundreds die from asbestos-related diseases. (RELATED: BNSF Train Derails Near Seattle, Dumping 5,000 Gallons Of Diesel Onto Reservation)
BNSF’s attorneys have challenged the claims, arguing that the railroad was unaware of the vermiculite’s hazards, as asserted by mine operator W.R. Grace and local officials at the time. They also questioned whether the rail yard was the definitive source of the plaintiffs’ ailments, given the presence of asbestos dust in the area.
“You have to go back and look at what the information was at the time,” BNSF attorney Chad Knight said, according to ABC News. “The materials coming from the mine were being used all over town. No one suspected there was anything unsafe about the products.”
The case also involves Joyce Walder, another victim who grew up in Libby and succumbed to mesothelioma at 66, according to ABC News.