HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Thomas Wells ran a half-marathon at age 60 and played recreational volleyball until he was 63. At 65 years old, doctors diagnosed him with mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. “I’m in great pain and alls I see is this getting worse,” the retired middle school teacher from Oregon said in a video deposition recorded in March 2020, four months after his cancer diagnosis. He died a day later. Portions of Wells’ deposition were replayed Monday in a federal courtroom for a jury hearing a wrongful death case against Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway. The estates of Wells and a second mesothelioma victim accuse the railroad and its corporate predecessors in a lawsuit of polluting Libby, Montana, with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from a nearby mine that was transported through the remote town’s rail yard in boxcars for much of last century. |
Social Worker Warms Residents Through 'A Spoon of Rice'Fish Sellers Run Business with Honesty, Bring Warmth to OthersShouguang: 'China's Hometown of Vegetables'Making Communities More BeautifulChinese Woman Inspires Generations with Revolutionary StoriesFederation's Role in Advancing Children's AllScientific Team Contributes to Large Research Infrastructures for CountryBarca hold off Napoli for 3Spring Bud BloomsHeartwarming Stories Behind Greeting Cards