Neb. Court Denies Union Pacific Railroad’s Efforts to Toss Benzene, Diesel Exhaust Lawsuit

OMAHA, Neb. –– A Nebraska federal court has rejected efforts to dismiss a benzene exposure suit against Union Pacific Railroad Co., finding that testimony proffered by the plaintiffs was not so fundamentally unsupported that it could offer no assistance to the jury.

In the April 1 order, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska concluded that “the scientific testimony at issue rests on ‘appropriate validation –– i.e., “good grounds,” based on what is known.’”

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of Arthur Edgett, saying that he worked as a brakeman/conductor at Union Pacific, and its predecessors-in-interest, from …