94-year-old Rubert Ellington of Tennessee is currently seeking $2.5 million in damages from his former employers. Ellington claims his former employers have damaged his health. Asbestos exposure is linked to the eventual development of asbestosis, lung cancer, respiratory ailments and mesothelioma cancer.

Ellington blames Illinois Central Railroad and BNSF for asbestos-related damages. Ellington claims he was exposed to asbestos during work from the 1950s to the 1970s. Ellington first sued Illinois Central Railroad in U.S. district court in East St. Louis in 2007. The case against BNSF was added at a later date.

Railroad workers are among those considered to be at a heightened risk of developing an asbestos-related illness. The issue of asbestos disease in former railroad workers has long been a concern, as the majority of surfaces in a train were covered with some sort of asbestos insulation.

However, the aging Ellington runs the risk of having the case dismissed by U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno of Philadelphia. Judge Robreno is responsible for pretrial proceedings in asbestos suits from federal courts around the nation. Robreno has worked to clear out asbestos claims to the tune of 6,000 a day this year.

Robreno took over the position last year, and made a big change. Now each plaintiff is required to state a single claim for each defendant, and blanket claims against a group of defendants are no longer allowed.

Unfortunately, that means that what was once a pool of tens of thousands of claims has now become a pool of more than three million lawsuits.

Asbestos was once a common component of building materials, shipyard construction, and even auto parts. Many Americans who worked in manual labor fields from the 1950s to the 1980s may have been unknowingly exposed to the deadly substance, which was once prized for a high resistance to both heat and chemical damage.

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