Is 2004 Ohio Law Regulating Asbestos Lawsuits Preempted By Federal Employers’ Liability Act?
Norfolk Southern Railway Company v. Homer R. Bogle et al., Case no. 2006-1025 8th District Court of Appeals (Cuyahoga County) May a 2004 Ohio law setting mandatory medical evidence requirements that must be met before an asbestos-related lawsuit may be heard by a state court be applied to cases brought by railroad workers against their employers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA)? BACKGROUND: FELA is a tort-based federal law that sets a nationally uniform compensation scheme through which railroad employees injured in the course of their employment may seek compensation from their employers. It is the exclusive remedy that railroad workers may invoke against their employers, and stands in place of the no-fault state workers’ compensation laws that apply to most other American workers. Claimants under the FELA are specifically authorized to bring actions under the statute in either a federal or a state court. It has been established by prior court decisions that claims as
