St. Louis jury returns $1.427 million verdict against Union Pacific

A LakinChapman client won a $1.427 million verdict for a former Union Pacific trainman who can no longer work due to osteoarthritis of the hips caused by years of wear-and-tear from poor conditions at Union Pacific's Kansas City-area rail yards.

The jury verdict came against Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) on behalf of the UP trainman , a 51-year-old brakeman who worked for UP from 1978 to 2002 when he had to quit working due to osteoarthritis.

Brad Lakin, managing Partner of LakinChapman, said "The plaintiff's physician and another expert witness testified that decades of medical literature supported the finding that his osteoarthritis was caused by conditions at UP's rail yards. UP's own specifications, as well as industry standards, require the use of smaller "yard ballast" to cover walkways in rail yards to provide a safe walking surface for rail workers. Instead, UP used a larger, coarser "mainline ballast" that creates a surface that witnesses testified is extremely difficult to walk on, causing workers ankle, knee and hip pain after a fully day of working on it."

Lakin also noted, "In addition to using the wrong ballast, witnesses testified to the poor conditions in the rail yard generally, especially trip and slip hazards, such as standing water, spilled grain and debris. After so many years of working in these conditions, he developed a chronic condition so painful he could no longer work."

This was the second time his case was tried to a verdict. In 2007, another firm represented the trainman, and the jury returned a verdict for the defense. The trial court was convinced by LakinChapman attorneys to grant him a new trial. On retrial, our client won a verdict against the railroad for $1,427,000.

LakinChapman attorneys have a long history of aggressively defending the rights of injured railroad workers and their families across the country. This verdict represents a string of successive victories for railroad workers by the LakinChapman lawyers going back more than a decade. More information can be found at http://www.lakinchapman.com/.