Depending on the laws that apply, you likely still have a claim. In railroad cases, for instance, the Federal Employers Liability Act allows for a recovery where the plaintiff can show that the railroad’s negligence played a part, even the slightest, in causing the injury. Occupational Medicine doctors have found that the mixture of workplace exposures to diesel exhaust or asbestos – on the one hand – with cigarette smoking – on the other hand – makes a person far more likely to end up with cancer as opposed to just smoking alone.
If you ride in locomotives, you are protected by a strict liability federal statute that prohibits the presence of diesel exhaust in the cabs of locomotives. If a jury finds that the presence of diesel exhaust in locomotive cabs contributed to your illness, any award will NOT be reduced for your smoking (i.e. there will be no “comparative negligence”).
Under Workers’ Compensation laws, different states across the Midwest have different standards of proof. If you want to learn whether you have a claim despite a previous smoking addiction, call Diesel Injury Law today and speak with a diesel attorney.