For Forty Years, the Dust of the International-Great Northern Rail Yards and the Industrial Chemicals of Central Texas Cotton Gins Settled into the Lungs of Mart Families—Now, the Corporate Reckoning Has Arrived

For a century, the City of Mart was defined by its division headquarters for the International-Great Northern Railroad and the rhythm of the cotton gins that powered the McLennan County economy. But for the pipefitters, railroad engineers, maintenance-of-way workers, and agricultural applicators who built this community, that work came with an invisible biological price. The asbestos insulation on those locomotive steam lines, the benzene in the solvents used at local industrial shops, and the herbicides sprayed across the blackland prairies did not simply vanish—they entered the bodies of workers, triggering cellular changes that often take decades to manifest as terminal disease.

If you or a loved one in Mart has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), or a catastrophic industrial injury, you are not merely a victim of “bad luck.” You are likely a victim of a documented history of corporate concealment. Billion-dollar manufacturers knew as early as the 1930s that their products were lethal, yet they chose profit over the lives of Central Texas families. At Attorney 911, we believe the companies that poisoned your past should not be allowed to steal your family’s future.

We are not a mass-tort referral mill. We are a trial-ready litigation team headquartered in Houston, serving Mart and all of McLennan County with 27+ years of experience holding multinational corporations accountable. Our founding attorney, Ralph Manginello, was part of the litigation team for the BP Texas City Refinery explosion—a $2.1 billion total case that remains a benchmark for industrial accountability. We are joined by Lupe Peña, a former insurance defense attorney who spent years inside the machine that corporate defendants use to suppress and deny claims. He know their playbook because he helped write it, and now he uses that insider intelligence to fight for you.

When you call 1-888-ATTY-911, you aren’t reaching a call center. You are reaching a team that understands the difference between a workers’ comp pittance and a multi-million dollar third-party recovery. Whether you worked the rail lines crossing FM 164 or handled pesticides near the Mart city limits, your rights do not have an expiration date just because the exposure happened decades ago.

The Biological Betrayal: How Asbestos and Industrial Toxins Destroy the Human Body at the Cellular Level

To win a toxic exposure claim in Mart, you must prove the connection between a specific substance and your specific diagnosis. This is where most law firm websites fail—they use vague terms like “asbestos exposure.” At Attorney 911, we lead with the science because the science is your greatest weapon in a Central Texas courtroom.

The Mechanism of Mesothelioma: Frustrated Phagocytosis

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the mesothelium—the thin lining of the lungs (pleural), abdomen (peritoneal), or heart (pericardial). In Mart’s history, railroad workers and maintenance mechanics were frequently exposed to chrysotile and amosite asbestos fibers. These fibers are microscopic, measuring less than five micrometers, and they are virtually indestructible.

When you inhale these fibers at a work site in Mart, they travel deep into the alveolar region of your lungs. Your body’s immune system recognizes them as foreign invaders and sends macrophages—the “scavenger” cells of the immune system—to engulf and destroy them. This is where the biological tragedy begins. Because the fibers are long, needle-like, and chemically stable, the macrophages cannot digest them. This results in “frustrated phagocytosis.”

The macrophage dies attempting to consume the fiber, releasing powerful inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) into the surrounding tissue. In a worker who spent twenty years in Mart’s rail shops or cotton gins, this cycle repeats millions of times. The resulting chronic inflammation causes persistent oxidative DNA damage. Specifically, it deactivates tumor suppressor genes like BAP1 and NF2. Without these genetic “brakes,” mesothelial cells begin to divide uncontrollably, eventually forming the tumors known as mesothelioma.

This process has a “latency period” of 15 to 50 years. This means a worker exposed to asbestos while repairing a locomotive in Mart in 1978 might not feel the first symptom—a persistent dry cough or shortness of breath—until 2026. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies asbestos as a Group 1 Human Carcinogen with no known safe level of exposure. https://monographs.iarc.who.int/substances-labeled-with-iarc-monographs-group-1/

Benzene and the Molecular Rewriting of Your Blood

If you worked in a refinery setting or handled industrial degreasers in McLennan County, you were likely exposed to benzene (C₆H₆). Benzene is a sweet-smelling, colorless liquid that is a natural component of crude oil. It is also one of the most dangerous hematotoxins ever used in industry.

Benzene does its damage through metabolic activation in your liver, mediated by the enzyme CYP2E1. Your body tries to eliminate the benzene by converting it into metabolites like benzene oxide and muconaldehyde. These metabolites travel through your bloodstream to your bone marrow—the “factory” where your red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are made.

Once in the marrow, these metabolites bind to DNA and cause chromosomal translocations, specifically on chromosomes 5, 7, and 8. The result is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). The cancer isn’t an “accident”; it is the direct result of a chemical rewriting your bone marrow’s genetic code. OSHA sets the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for benzene at 1 ppm (part per million), but the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has long warned that there is no safe threshold for a known human carcinogen. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0049.html

If you have been diagnosed with a blood or lung disease after working in Mart, you need to understand that the evidence is in your cells. We work with board-certified toxicologists and oncologists to prove that corporate negligence in your Mart workplace caused your illness. Call 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free, comprehensive medical-legal review.

The Mart Railroad Legacy: Why FELA Rights Override Standard Workers’ Comp

For much of its history, Mart was a “railroad town.” The Missouri Pacific and its predecessors employed generations of Mart residents to maintain the locomotives and tracks that moved freight across Central Texas. Many of these workers believe that if they get sick now, their only option is a small monthly disability check. This is a myth manufactured by the railroad companies.

FELA vs. State Workers’ Comp

If you were a railroad worker in Mart, you are not covered by the Texas workers’ compensation system. You are covered by the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), found at 45 U.S.C. §§ 51-60. FELA is far more powerful than workers’ comp because it allows you to sue the railroad for FULL DAMAGES, including pain and suffering, mental anguish, and full lost wages. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title45/chapter2&edition=prelim

The standard for winning a FELA case is also much lower than a standard negligence case. Under the “featherweight” burden of proof, the railroad is liable if its negligence played ANY PART, even the slightest, in causing your injury or disease.

Asbestos and Diesel Exhaust in the Mart Roundhouse

Historically, Mart’s railroad operations were saturated with toxins. Asbestos was used in:

• Locomotive boiler insulation and steam pipe lagging.
• Brake shoes that released clouds of chrysotile dust during every inspection.
• Ceiling tiles and pipe insulation in the Mart railyard offices and shops.

When these materials were cut or removed, fibers filled the stagnant air of the shops. Furthermore, the constant inhalation of diesel exhaust in the yard added a synergistic effect, compounding the risk of lung cancer and bladder cancer. Railroad companies like Union Pacific and BNSF (the successors to Mart’s legacy lines) have known about these risks for decades.

Ralph Manginello and the team at Attorney 911 have spent years fighting the specific tactics railroads use to deny FELA claims. They will try to argue that your smoking caused your lung cancer, or that your exposure “wasn’t significant.” We counter with industrial hygienists who can reconstruct the levels of toxins in a Mart shop from forty years ago. As Ralph discusses in his video “How Much Is My Case Worth?” (YouTube URL: onBzdkIWadY), FELA cases involving terminal disease often reach into the multi-million dollar range.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is unique. But if the railroad took your health, FELA gives us the power to take back your family’s financial security. Call 1-888-ATTY-911 to speak with a railroad injury attorney who knows Mart’s geography and the corporate history of the lines that run through it.

The Axis of Toxic Substances: Primary Case Types in Mart

While the railroad is a primary anchor, Mart’s position in the Central Texas agricultural and industrial belt exposes residents to multiple “Axis 1” substances. Each of these represents a distinct legal pathway to compensation.

Roundup (Glyphosate) and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Mart is surrounded by row-crops—cotton, corn, and sorghum. For decades, local farmers and groundskeepers have used Roundup (glyphosate) as their primary herbicide. The “Monsanto Papers”—internal documents revealed in recent litigation—prove that Monsanto (now Bayer) ghostwrote scientific studies to downplay the cancer risk of glyphosate.

In 2015, the World Health Organization’s IARC classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A). https://monographs.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mono112-09.pdf. If you are a Mart resident diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) after years of Roundup use, you belong in the massive litigation that has already seen multi-billion dollar verdicts.

Recent Roundup verdicts include:

• January 2024: $2.25 billion verdict (Philadelphia) for a 20-year user with NHL.
• November 2023: $1.56 billion verdict (Missouri) for three plaintiffs.

These results are public record and not Attorney 911 cases, but they set the market value for what a Roundup claim is worth. We pursue these cases as product liability claims, meaning we sue the manufacturer, not your local employer or family farm.

PFAS: The “Forever Chemicals” in Mart’s Water and Soil

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of 14,000+ chemicals used in firefighting foam (AFFF) and grease-resistant packaging. They are called forever chemicals because their carbon-fluorine bonds are the strongest in organic chemistry—they never break down in the environment or your body.

If you lived near Mart’s firefighting training areas or worked at industrial facilities using specialty coatings, PFAS may have bioaccumulated in your blood. PFAS exposure is linked to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and thyroid disease. The EPA recently finalized a strict Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of just 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas

Attorney 911 handles individual and community-wide PFAS claims against the primary manufacturers—3M and DuPont. As Ralph explains in our podcast (Transistor URL: share.transistor.fm/s/f2913784), these “environmental torts” require sophisticated water modeling to prove the pathway from the point of release to your kitchen sink in Mart.

Benzene and the Central Texas Petrochemical Shadow

While Mart doesn’t house a massive refinery, the “refinery row” workers of the Gulf Coast often retire to Central Texas communities like Mart. Furthermore, gasoline transport and local industrial cleaning operations in the Waco-Mart corridor involve significant benzene risk.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is the signature benzene cancer. If you were exposed to benzene at a facility like the nearby Owens-Illinois glass plant or while hauling fuel along Highway 164, and you now have a low white blood cell count or a diagnosis of MDS, you have a claim. 1-888-ATTY-911 is your line to a firm that has litigated benzene cases against the biggest oil companies in the world.

The Axis of Dangerous Industries: Axis 2 Worker Injuries in Mart

Industrial work in Mart is fundamentally dangerous. Beyond the toxins, the physical hazards of the workplace can change a life in a single heartbeat.

Construction Accidents, Scaffold Falls, and Trench Collapses

Mart is seeing increased commercial development and infrastructure repair. But on many job sites in McLennan County, safety is treated as a suggestion rather than a requirement. OSHA’s “Fatal Four”—falls, struck-by, electrocution, and caught-in/between—account for nearly 60% of construction deaths. https://www.osha.gov/data/commonstats

If you fell from a scaffold in Mart, the employer will likely tell you that workers’ comp is your only option. They are often wrong. If the scaffold was defectively manufactured, if a general contractor failed to inspect the site, or if a property owner provided unsafe conditions, we file a third-party lawsuit.

Under OSHA 29 CFR 1926.451, scaffolds must be designed by a qualified person and inspected daily. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.451. When we find that these standards were ignored, we pursue uncapped damages for pain and suffering—money that workers’ comp cannot provide.

Industrial Explosions and the BP Texas City Standard

Ralph Manginello’s experience in the 2005 BP Texas City Refinery explosion litigation defines our firm’s approach to industrial disasters. When a process unit fails or a pressurized line ruptures—like the 2019 ExxonMobil Baytown event—it is almost always due to a violation of Process Safety Management (PSM) standards (29 CFR 1910.119). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.119

A refinery or chemical plant explosion doesn’t just cause burns; it causes blast overpressure injuries, lung barotrauma, and lifelong PTSD. If you were a Mart contractor working a turnaround at a regional facility and survived an explosion, our team knows how to subpoena the maintenance logs and internal PHAs (Process Hazard Analyses) that prove the company knew the plant was an “accident waiting to happen.”

The Insider Advantage: Why Lupe Peña’s Past Matters for Your Mart Case

When you sue a company like BNSF, ExxonMobil, or Monsanto, you are going up against the most powerful insurance defense firms in the world. These firms have a singular goal: to ensure you receive zero dollars.

Our associate attorney, Lupe Peña, used to work for them. He spent the early years of his career inside those national defense firms, learning how insurance companies internally value a mesothelioma claim or a construction injury. He knows the “adjuster playbook”—the delay tactics, the intrusive medical record reviews, and the “IME” (Independent Medical Examination) strategies designed to say your injury was “pre-existing.”

This isn’t just an interesting background—it is a nuclear advantage for our clients in Mart. As Lupe explains in his deposition preparation video (YouTube URL: x_qCwqfeRRs), “Knowing how the defense thinks allows us to stay three steps ahead. We don’t just anticipate their moves; we’ve already prepared the counter-strike before they even file the motion.”

When you hire Attorney 911, you aren’t just getting a lawyer; you’re getting a former insider who provides you with a “spy from the other side.” This insight is why we maintain a 4.9-star rating across 270+ Google reviews. Clients like Eddy M. have noted: “Every question I had was answered thoroughly… they truly made a difference.”

The Multi-Pathway Compensation Strategy: Pursuing Every Dollar Available

Most firms handling toxic exposure in Mart will file a single lawsuit and call it a day. At Attorney 911, we believe in the “Full Recovery Stack.” We identify every possible source of compensation and pursue them all simultaneously.

The Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust System

There is a $30 billion pool of money available to Mart asbestos victims that does not require a trial. When companies like Johns-Manville, Owens Corning, and W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy, the courts required them to set up trusts to pay future claimants.

• Multiple Filings: Most Mart railroad or refinery workers were exposed to products from 10 to 50 different manufacturers. We file claims with every single trust you qualify for.
• Current Payouts: While some trusts like the Manville Trust pay at a reduced percentage (~5%), others like the NARCO Trust have paid at 100%.
• No Conflict: Filing a trust claim does not stop us from suing still-solvent companies in court.

VA Benefits for Mart Veterans

Mart has a strong heritage of military service. If you are a veteran exposed to asbestos at a Navy shipyard, or if you were stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987, you are entitled to VA disability compensation. Under the PACT Act of 2022, mesothelioma and dozens of other conditions are now “presumptive,” meaning you don’t have to prove service-connection—the law assumes it. https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/

We help Mart veterans coordinate their VA benefits with their civil lawsuits, ensuring that one does not negatively impact the other. As Ralph discusses in his video “Are Personal Injury Lawyers Worth It?” (YouTube URL: VDptORwY6Pk), having an attorney manage these parallel tracks typically results in 3-5x higher total recovery for the client.

Spoliation Alert: Why the Evidence of Your Mart Exposure Is Disappearing

In toxic exposure litigation, time is your greatest enemy. The companies that exposed you in Mart are not preserving evidence for your benefit; they are legally destroying it according to “retention schedules.”

The Evidence Deterioration Timeline

1. Facilities and Sites: Old rail shops in Mart are demolished. Cotton gins are updated or cleared. The physical layout that proved you worked in the “hot zone” disappears.
2. The “Statute of Repose”: Some states have absolute cutoffs for suing manufacturers. If you wait too long, even a terminal diagnosis cannot revive a barred claim.
3. Witness Mortality: This is the most tragic part of Mart asbestos cases. Your coworkers—the only people who can testify about the dust in the shop forty years ago—are aging and passing away. Every year we lose 2-3% of that witness pool.

How We Move to Protect Your Rights

The moment you retain Attorney 911, we send “preservation of evidence” (spoliation) demands to every potential defendant. We subpoena:

• OSHA 300 Logs: To see if other Mart workers got sick at the same time.
• Industrial Hygiene Records: To find the air sampling data the company hid in a filing cabinet.
• MSDS Sheets: To prove the chemical components of the products you used.

As Ralph explains in “Can I Use My Cellphone to Document a Legal Case?” (Podcast URL: share.transistor.fm/s/a42daf06), capturing evidence early is the difference between a case that settles for millions and a case that gets dismissed.

Facing the Enemy: The 12 Tactics Corporate Defense Uses in McLennan County

Corporate defendants in toxic torts use a standardized playbook to avoid accountability. Because Lupe Peña helped run this playbook in the past, we are uniquely equipped to dismantle it.

1. “The Junk Science Defense”: They will hire “product defense” experts to say benzene doesn’t cause AML. We counter with board-certified hematologists who cite the primary IARC monographs. https://publications.iarc.who.int/576
2. “Smoking Caused It”: In asbestos lung cancer cases, they will blame your Marlboros. We prove the Helsinki Criteria, which show that asbestos and smoking are synergistic—the asbestos actually made the smoking more lethal, and the manufacturer is still 100% liable.
3. “The Regulatory Shield”: They’ll say, “We followed all OSHA standards.” We prove that those standards were the bare minimum, and the company knew they were inadequate based on internal NIOSH recommendations.
4. “The Bankruptcy Stay”: They’ll try to steer you only toward the low-paying trusts. We push past that to sue the solvent parent companies and successor corporations.
5. “The Medical Records Raid”: They will try to comb through your entire life’s medical history to find an “alternative cause.” We file protective orders to keep the focus on your injury, not your privacy.
6. “The Terminal Delay”: In mesothelioma cases, defense firms use stall tactics hoping the plaintiff dies before trial, reducing the case’s emotional impact. We respond by filing for Expedited Dockets and Trial Preference, which are available in many Texas courts for terminal patients.
7. “The No Identification Defense”: “You can’t prove it was OUR asbestos.” We reconstruct your Mart work history using co-worker affidavits and historical purchase orders to “tag” the specific products.
8. “Sophisticated User Defense”: They’ll argue you were a skilled pipefitter and should have known the risk. We prove that the “state of the art” knowledge was hidden by the manufacturer and unavailable to you.
9. “Statute of Repose”: They’ll cite an absolute deadline. We use the Discovery Rule, arguing the clock didn’t start until you reasonably knew the cause of your illness.
10. “The Contractor Trap”: They’ll blame the staffing agency. we use the “borrowed servant” doctrine and premises liability to hold the facility owner responsible.
11. “Workers’ Comp Immunity”: We bust this myth by identifying the third-party manufacturers who provided the dangerous products to your Mart job site.
12. “The Government Contractor Defense”: They’ll say they built for the military. We prove the military didn’t require the specific design defect that killed you.

Educational Resources and Treatment Near Mart, Texas

Fighting a toxic exposure diagnosis is a medical battle as much as a legal one. McLennan County residents have access to some of the best specialty care in the nation if they know where to look.

• Doris Miller VA Medical Center (Waco): For veterans, this is the first stop for a PACT Act Toxic Exposure Screening. It creates the medical “spine” of your legal case. 1-254-752-6581.
• MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston): Ranked #1 in the nation. They have a dedicated Mesothelioma Program and a specialized Leukemia Center. If you are diagnosed in Mart, we strongly recommend a second opinion at MD Anderson. https://www.mdanderson.org
• UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center (Dallas): An NCI-designated center just 90 minutes north of Mart, offering world-class thoracic oncology and clinical trials for lung cancer and leukemia. https://utswmed.org/cancer/
• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Offers free information specialists to help Mart benzene victims understand their diagnosis and find clinical trials. https://www.lls.org

FAQ: Toxic Exposure and Industrial Injury in Mart

Can I file a mesothelioma claim in Mart if I haven’t been in the railyard since the 1980s?
Yes. Mesothelioma has a 15-50 year latency. Under the Discovery Rule, the Texas statute of limitations usually began running on the day you received your diagnosis, not the day you were exposed. Call 1-888-ATTY-911 quickly to ensure your filing window stays open.

What is the “Manville Trust” and do I qualify?
The Johns-Manville Corporation was the largest asbestos manufacturer in Mart’s industrial history. Their trust has paid billions. If you can document that you worked with or near Manville products (insulation, cement, pipes), you likely qualify.

My employer at the Mart cotton gin is gone—who do I sue?
If the company dissolved, we look for Successor Liability (the company that bought them) or their historical insurance carriers. Additionally, the manufacturers of the chemicals and equipment used at the gin are still solvent and liable for “failure to warn.”

Hablamos Español?
Sí. El abogado Lupe Peña es bilingüe y entiende los retos que enfrentan los trabajadores Hispanos en Mart. Su estatus migratorio NO afecta su derecho a Compensación. Llame al 1-888-ATTY-911 para una consulta en su idioma.

How much does an attorney cost?
At Attorney 911, we work on a Contingency Fee Basis. You pay $0 upfront. We advance all costs for expert witnesses and water testing. If we don’t win your case, you owe us nothing. As Ralph explains in Episode 24 of the Attorney 911 podcast (share.transistor.fm/s/c1b705d4), this levels the playing field against billion-dollar corporations.

Will this affect my VA disability or Social Security?
Generally, no. A civil lawsuit or trust fund claim is a “third-party recovery” and typically does not offset your earned government benefits. We ensure your settlement is structured to protect your eligibility for other programs.

Can I sue for “secondary” exposure if my wife got sick washing my work clothes?
Yes. This is a common mesothelioma pathway in “railroad families” in Mart. The company’s duty of care often extends to the household. We pursue these as distinct personal injury claims.

What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a “survival action”?
If a loved one in Mart passed away, a wrongful death claim pays the family for their loss of companionship and financial support. A survival action pays the family for the pain and suffering the DECEASED person felt before they passed. We file both to maximize the total recovery for Mart families.

Join the 270+ Clients Who Rated Attorney 911 4.9 Stars on Google

When you are facing a life-threatening diagnosis, you don’t need a billboard. You need a “Pitt Bull.” As Chad H. wrote in his verified Google review: “A true PITT BULL and fighter. He don’t play! Unlike some law firms where you are dealing with an answering service, Atty. Manginello and I had DIRECT COMMUNICATION.”

Ralph Manginello and Lupe Peña are ready to bring that direct, aggressive advocacy to your Mart toxic exposure case. We know the roads you’ve driven—from FM 164 to Old Mart Road. We know the plants where you worked. And we know exactly how to make the corporations that poisoned you pay for what they’ve done.

The trust fund assets are depleting. The evidence in Mart is disappearing. The statutes of limitations are ticking. Don’t let another day pass without a former defense insider and a 27-year veteran trial attorney on your side.

Call Attorney 911 at 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911) right now for a free, confidential medical-legal case evaluation. We answer 24/7. Hablamos Español. No fee unless we win.

Principal Office: Houston, Texas. Serving Mart and all of McLennan County. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Attorney 911: Because a toxic exposure is a legal emergency. Call 1-888-ATTY-911 and get the fighter you deserve.