Norfolk & Western Railway Company v. Freeman Ayers et al. (538 U.S. 135)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 10, 2003 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 538 U.S. 135 · 123 S. Ct. 1210
- Decided
- March 10, 2003
- Term
- October Term 2002
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Ginsburg
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court. The Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA or Act), 35 Stat. 65, as amended, 45 U. S. C. §§51-60, makes common carrier railroads liable in damages to employees who suffer work-related injuries caused “in whole or in part” by the railroad’s negligence. This case, brought against Norfolk & Western Railway Company (Norfolk) by six former employees now suffering from asbestosis (asbestosis claimants), presents two issues involving the FELA’s application. The first issue concerns the damages recoverable by a railroad worker who suffers from the disease asbestosis: When the cause of that disease, in whole or in part, was exposure to asbestos while on the job, may the worker’s recovery for his asbestosis-related “pain and suffering” include damages for fear of developing cancer? The second issue concerns the extent of the railroad’s liability when third parties not before the court — for example, prior or subsequent employers or asbestos manufacturers or suppliers — may have contributed to the worker’s injury. Is the railroad answerable in full to the employee, so that pursuit of contribution or indemnity from other potentially liable enterprises is the railroad’s sole damages-award-sharing recourse? Or is the railroad initially entitled to an apportionment among injury-causing tortfeasors, i. e., a division of damages limiting…
Excerpt of a 57,545-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.