Jury: BNSF Railway contributed to 2 deaths in Montana town where asbestos sickened thousands

A federal jury says BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shipped through a Montana town where thousands have been sickened. The jury awarded $4 million each in compensatory damages to the estates of the two plaintiffs, who died in 2020. The jury did not find that BNSF acted intentionally or with indifference so there will be no punitive damages awarded. Attorneys for the estates of the two victims had argued that the railroad knew the asbestos-tainted vermiculite was dangerous but failed to act. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate purchased the railway in 2010.