New asbestos suit filed in St. Clair County

The widow of a railroad laborer is suing for negligence, alleging the asbestos he inhaled on the job caused his lung cancer and death.

Carol Borgman filed a lawsuit Dec. 4 in St. Clair County Court against 49 companies and subsidiaries related to her late husband Edmund L. Borgman’s employment.

According to the complaint, Edmund Borgman worked for the Illinois Central Railroad Company from 1968 to 1999, and ingested large amounts of asbestos fibers while working on locomotives. The lawsuit says the employers and their vendors were aware of the dangers of asbestos poisoning but did not prevent workers from exposure. Borgman suffered great pain before his death in 2011, the suit states.

Carol Borgman seeks damages in excess of $50,000. She is represented by attorneys Randy L. Gori and Barry Julian of Gori, Julian and Associates in Edwardsville.

St. Clair County Court case number 14-L-776