Tenn. Appellate Court Upholds Award of Summary Judgment to BNSF Railway in Kidney Cancer Action

JACKSON, Tenn. — A Tennessee appellate court has upheld an award of summary judgment to BNSF Railway Co. in a case in which a former employee alleges her exposure to diesel exhaust and asbestos at its facility caused her to develop kidney cancer, affirming that the opinions of her two experts were unreliable.

In an April 19 order, the Tennessee Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that the opinions of Drs. Hernando Perez and Ernest Chiodo were not adequately supported by relevant scientific data or peer-reviewed literature.

Annie Dowdy worked for the BNSF or its predecessors for …