FELA Verdicts/Settlements
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Neck and Back
Amount: $637,500. Settlement
Facts: The locomotive he was operating collided with another locomotive.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Low Back
Amount: $ Confidential Settlement
Facts: The plaintiff was injured when while testing a M23 machine.
v. Norfolk Southern
Injury: Shoulder
Amount: $130,000. Settlement
Facts: The plaintiff working as a carman, he has been subjected to repetitive trauma and/or activity involved in opening, closing, lifting and handling Holden Chocks.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Elbow
Amount: $200,000. Settlement
Facts: Plaintiff sustained injury to his left elbow while attempting to throw and/or line a ground-throw rail switch in Defendant’s Houston Yard.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Knee
Amount: $250,000. Settlement
Facts: The plaintiff suffered injury to his left knee while attempting to walk on ballast carrying a frog in Defendant’s Inglewood Yard.
v. Norfolk & Southern
Injury: Low back & knee
Amount: $350,000. Settlement
Facts: The plaintiff was climbing a ladder to enter a box car. He grabbed the door facing to pull himself in when the facing broke causing him to injure his back. Two bolts were missing and he was unaware of it.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Knee
Amount: $400,000. Settlement
Facts: While walking in the walkway to make a cut of cars, the plaintiff tripped over a brakeshoe and scrap metal lying in the walkway injuring his right knee.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Low back & neck
Amount: $475,000. Settlement
Facts: The locomotive on which the plaintiff was riding collided with a cut of cars, injuring his neck and back.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Low back & foot
Amount: $500,000. Settlement
Facts: The work truck the plaintiff was driving went into ditch and struck a tree.
v. Burlington Northern
Injury: Head, neck, back and shoulder
Amount: $500,000. Settlement
Facts: The boom truck in which he was a passenger left the road, throwing the plaintiff through the windshield.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Back & neck
Amount: $ Confidential Settlement
Facts: A door on the locomotive came open due to a broken latch and struck the plaintiff, throwing him to the ground and injuring his neck.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Foot
Amount: $612,500. Settlement
Facts: While attempting to line a switch, the switch point would not move. The plaintiff attempted to release the switch by stepping on the connecting rod, causing the plantar facia to rupture.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Low back & neck
Amount: $750,000. Settlement
Facts: While attempting to turn a hand brake, the hand brake stuck, causing plaintiff to injure his neck and back.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: COPD
Amount: $ Confidential Settlement
Facts: Client has a pulmonary claim for chronic exposure to diesel, pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Amputation of Left Leg
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: The plaintiff fell from a railroad car which resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee and a partial amputation of his right foot. A jury in Muskogee, OK, returned a verdict in the amount of $3.2 million and the railroad appealed. On appeal, the railroad was given new trial on damages, and a second jury returned a verdict in the amount of $9.77 million. The parties reached a confidential settlement agreement prior to oral arguments on second appeal.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Brain Injury
Amount: $5,000,000 Verdict
Facts: The conductor was hit by a moving locomotive, causing a hematoma in his brain and leaving him in a coma for over two months. He suffered retrograde and antegrade amnesia and will never work again.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Leg Amputation
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: Plaintiff was injured when a train pulling cars into the facility struck him.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Three Ruptured Discs
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: The Carman was injured while opening a railcar door in Wentzville, MO.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Back
Amount: $1,900,000 Verdict
Facts: Injured when train derailed due to defective track.
v. Drew and Northern Railway Company
Injury: Back
Amount: $1,800,000 Verdict
Facts: The conductor was injured while attempting to align a misaligned draw bar on a freight car, sustaining three ruptured cervical discs that compressed his spinal cord. After surgical intervention, the injury left him with stroke-like symptoms and a loss of fine motor control on the right side of his body.
v. Burlington Northern Railroad
Injury: Back
Amount: $1,500,000 Settlement
Facts: Plaintiff took two steps outside the truck when he stepped into a 6 deep rut left by the tandem tires of a truck. Plaintiff fell to the ground and he immediately began experiencing pain in his low back and left leg.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Back
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: The Carman injured his neck, back and knees while manipulating a chock device (used to secure automobiles to the railcar) in Wentzville, MO.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Elbow
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: While attempting to throw a switch, the railroader injured his elbow.
v. Missouri Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific
Injury: Low Back
Amount: $1,470,843 Verdict
Facts: While attempting to repair a full tank, the plaintiff was splashed with fuel causing him to jump back in a twisting motion, resulting in a injury to his lower back.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Back
Amount: $1,323,000 Verdict
Facts: The conductor was injured throwing a defective switch.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Torn Rotator Cuff
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: Plaintiff was injured while carrying an Avtec radio.
v. Union Pacific
Injury: Eyes and Back
Amount: $1,300,000 Verdict
Facts: While attempting to repair a locomotive's fuel tank which was recently punctured by a piece of angle bar on the track, fuel splashed into the plaintiff's face, causing him to jump back in a twisting motion, thereby sustaining injury.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: The Carman has been subjected to repetitive trauma and/or activity involved in opening, closing, lifting and handling chock.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Herniated Disc
Amount: $1,144,836 Verdict
Facts: The plaintiff was throwing a switch, which bound up, resulting in a back injury.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Back
Amount: $968,306 Verdict
Facts: The conductor was injured throwing a defective switch.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Invasion of Privacy
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: A conductor accused the railroad of invading his privacy by spying on him to see if he was seriously injured in an on-duty injury.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Post-Traumatic Stress
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: Plaintiff's train was involved in a collision with a train owned by Branson Scenic Railway.
v. Railroad Company
Injury: Leg Amputation
Amount: Confidential Settlement
Facts: Plaintiff was injured when a train pulling cars into the facility struck him.
v. Norfolk Southern
Injury: Ligament Strain, Knee Contusion
Amount: $854,987 Verdict
Facts: The conductor attempted to open a door handle on a boxcar, the handle stuck and suddenly released, causing Plaintiff to fall to floor and injure both knees.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Neck and Low Back
Amount: $750,000 Settlement
Facts: The 56 year old locomotive engineer was injured when the locomotive on which he was riding bottomed out on the track.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Back and Neck
Amount: $738,210 Settlement
Facts: The engineer injured his neck and back when he was thrown around in the locomotive after a hitting a bad spot in the track and it became separated from the train.
v. Norfolk Southern
Injury: Unoperated Herniated Disc
Amount: $700,000 Verdict
Facts: The clerk fell from his chair in the yard office due to holes in the floor. The plaintiff was off work due to diabetes 2 of the 3 years prior to injury.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Rotator Cuff Tear
Amount: $700,000 Settlement
Facts: A switch engine struck the conductor causing the shoulder injury.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Neck and Back
Amount: $642,500 Settlement
Facts: Injured back and neck while operating a defective handbrake.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Back
Amount: $620,000 Verdict
Facts: Injured while lifting a 20-pound ice bucket onto the locomotive.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Herniated Disc
Amount: $625,000 Settlement
Facts: Injured back while lining improperly maintained spring switch.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Herniated Disc
Amount: $540,000 Verdict
Facts: The brakeman was attempting to dismount a tank car and the hand hold/safety railing broke resulting in the back injury.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Back and Knee
Amount: $530,000 Settlement
Facts: The plaintiff fell in a manhole because the cover was broken.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Back
Amount: $500,000 Settlement
Facts: Slipped on loose & oversized ballast and fell down an incline.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Neck and Low Back
Amount: $500,000 Settlement
Facts: A switchman was attempting to throw a switch resulting in an injury to his back.
v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Injury: Lower Back
Amount: $500,000 Settlement
Facts: Plaintiff sustained back injuries while attempting to release a hand brake.
v. Missouri Pacific Railroad
Injury: Heel Injury
Amount: $500,000 Settlement
Facts: The Brakeman had to jump from the train when it started to derail causing a fracture to his heel bone, which later required a bone fusion.
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