NJ Transit cancer lawsuits for employees

NJ Transit Rail Operations operates commuter rail across New Jersey. Most of its trains carry people between New Jersey and New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. Among North American commuter railroads, it ranks third in ridership and first in route miles.

The railroad took over its lines on January 1, 1983. Conrail operated them before that, and before Conrail they were run by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Central Railroad of New Jersey, the New York and Long Branch Railroad, and the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. During the free review, the reviewer will ask which railroads you worked for and when.

If a worker has died, the FELA claim belongs to the personal representative, the person legally appointed to handle the estate, on behalf of the worker's surviving husband or wife and children.

Yes. The Supreme Court, in Urie v. Thompson, held that FELA includes occupational disease, not only sudden accidents.

Railroad employees fall outside state workers' compensation, so FELA is the path for seeking recovery from the railroad. That can mean money for your medical bills, the paychecks you've already missed, the work you won't be able to do, and what you've been through.

The railroad's negligence needs only to play some part, no matter how small. Even a worker who shares blame may still recover. The jury then reduces the award according to the worker's percentage of fault.

A worker is not considered to have accepted the risks of railroad work when company negligence helped bring about the illness. Any company rule meant to stop workers from talking with each other about getting hurt is void.

A FELA lawsuit must be filed within three years, either in federal court or in state court. For a slowly developing illness, you must file within three years of when you knew, or should have known, that the illness might be tied to your work.

That start point often turns on what a doctor said. A New Jersey appeals court ruling in January 2026 cut off part of a car inspector's bladder cancer case. His doctor connected the cancer to his job in May 2014. He filed suit in April 2019, which meant the claims based on the cancer as it existed in 2014 were too late.

If a doctor has already told you the cancer could be work-related, the three-year clock may be running now. Call today for a free review of your work history, your diagnosis, and how much time you have left to file.

When you call, you reach a firm whose work is FELA cases for railroad employees. The review is free, by phone or through a brief online form. Your call might be taped so the lawyer's office keeps a correct account of your work history.

The reviewer will ask a few things:

1. Which railroads, and the years worked.
2. The job titles held.
3. Which yards, shops, or lines.
4. What cancer you were diagnosed with.
5. The point when a doctor first said work could be the cause.

NJ Transit files reports of on-duty injuries and illnesses with the Federal Railroad Administration. Those reports rarely record cancer, since cancer usually appears years after the exposure and frequently after the worker is no longer with the railroad.

Three cancer reports do not mean only three people got sick. Call today, while there is still time to file, for a free FELA claim review with a law firm that handles railroad workers' claims, starting with your own years on the job.