Hitt v. CSX Transportation, Inc.

Peggy Hitt, as the personal representative of the estate of her late husband James Hitt, brought a wrongful death action against CSX Transportation, Inc. under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA). James Hitt worked as a railroad employee for decades, during which he was continuously exposed to toxic substances including asbestos, diesel exhaust, and silica dust. He was later diagnosed with lung cancer and died. The plaintiff alleged that CSX failed to provide a reasonably safe workplace, knew or should have known of the hazardous conditions, and that this negligence substantially caused James Hitt’s fatal illness. On May 11, 2023, a federal appellate ruling addressed the final challenges to the jury’s earlier findings, which had determined CSX was liable and awarded significant damages for the suffering and loss experienced by the Hitt family.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court judgment and upheld the jury verdict, ordering CSX Transportation to pay approximately $3.5 million in damages to the estate of James Hitt.

The central disputes were whether CSX Transportation breached its duty under FELA to provide a safe working environment, whether the company had adequate notice of the specific carcinogenic risks present in its operations, and whether sufficient evidence established causation linking the occupational exposures to James Hitt’s lung cancer and death.

The decision reinforced the broad protections for railroad workers under FELA, particularly the relaxed causation standard that allows plaintiffs to recover when employer negligence played any part, even slight, in producing the injury. It strengthened safety compliance expectations across the rail industry and served as a pivotal precedent for occupational cancer claims involving long-term toxic exposure.