MBTA cancer lawsuits for employees

Ownership of the commuter rail system, along with most of its track, belongs to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Since 2014, Keolis Commuter Services, part of the French company Keolis, has run the trains under contract for the MBTA. Trains run across Greater Boston and out to Fitchburg, Newburyport, and North Kingstown in Rhode Island.

During the free review, the firm will ask which railroads you worked for and when. Your review covers each railroad and each year on the job.

It does. In Urie v. Thompson, the Supreme Court ruled that FELA applies to illnesses caused by the job, not just accidents. Under the law, a railroad pays when a worker is hurt or killed and negligence is in whole or in part behind it. Negligence means the railroad, or its own people, failed to use reasonable care.

The railroad's share can be tiny. In CSX v. McBride, the Court held that negligence only has to play some part, however small.

Two more rules work in your favor:

• Even a worker who shares some of the blame can still recover, though the award is reduced by that share of fault.
• When the railroad's negligence contributed to the harm, you are not treated as having accepted the risks that come with the job.

FELA cases must be filed within three years. When a disease takes years to appear, the count begins once the effects of the exposure become apparent, rather than on the day the exposure happened.

That starting point can come sooner than you might think. In one 2026 New Jersey appeals decision, the court looked at a car inspector who learned in May 2014 that his bladder cancer was tied to what he breathed at work. He brought his suit in April 2019, and the court barred his claim for that cancer. The clock keeps running until a claim is filed, so call today and a firm that handles these cases can look at your work history and your deadline for free.

Railroads report injuries and illnesses that happen on the job to the Federal Railroad Administration. Here is what the FRA reports show for MBTA workers.

That zero in the cancer row does not prove no MBTA employee ever developed cancer from the job. Because cancer tends to surface many years after exposure, frequently once a worker has already left the railroad, reports like these almost never capture it.

Workers who are hurt may recover the cost of medical care, wages lost now and down the road, and pain and suffering. The case can be brought in federal court or in state court.

Death does not end the claim. It moves to the personal representative, the individual in charge of the estate, who brings it on behalf of the surviving spouse and children. Families are welcome to call even if all they have are a few records.

When you call or fill out the short form, you reach a law firm that represents railroad workers in FELA claims. There is no charge for the review. Your call might be recorded so the firm keeps a correct record of your work history.

1. Gather your work history: the railroads you worked for, the years, and the jobs you held.
2. Write down the yards, shops, or lines where you spent time.
3. Note your diagnosis and when a doctor first said it could be tied to work. That date often sets your three-year deadline.

Federal law invalidates railroad rules or contracts intended to stop employees from voluntarily sharing information about a coworker's injury or death. Call now or send the short form for a free review with a law firm that handles railroad workers' FELA claims, because the three-year clock may already be running.