Notable FELA verdicts from around the country
The plaintiff was a 35-year-old switchman for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, a predecessor to Union Pacific. During switching operations, he was hit by coupled rail car that was traveling at a speed in excess of the railroad’s safety rules. His left leg was nearly severed below the knee by...
The plaintiff was a conductor and brakeman employed by Norfolk Southern. On the day he was injured, he was using a remote-control device to couple two freight cars to an engine. As he was walking along the tracks, he tripped over a cross tie located about three feet from the...
The plaintiff, a 28-year-old railroad switchman, was standing on a platform on the front engine, acting as a lookout as his crew was transporting eight locomotives to a diesel engine servicing facility. A railroad engineer was operating the consist of engines from the rear locomotive. The plaintiff transmitted a 30-car...
The railroad worker was employed by Norfolk Southern Railway from 1979 until 1990 and was largely responsible for replacing the asbestos-containing brake shoes on Norfolk Southern trains. After his retirement, he suffered from shortness of breath and was treated by a pulmonary doctor who documented that he may have an...
The plaintiff was a 28-year-old assistant signalman that was a passenger in a company truck driven by a co-worker. The truck veered off the road and when the driver tried to regain control, he over-corrected and applied too much force to the steering wheel. The truck went up an embankment,...
While working as a truck driver/ground person for the Union Pacific Railroad, the plaintiff was attempting to maneuver a 55-pound weight, known as a pedestal, on a flatcar. The pedestal tended to get jammed in the track of the car because of rust and dirt accumulations. While attempting to maneuver...
The plaintiff, a 25-year-old switchman conductor, was switching cars on three separate tracks for the Louisville & Indiana Railroad Co. The senior conductor instructed him to lace air hoses on cars that were to be switched. Without warning, a cut of three railcars was released by the ground conductor and...
The decedent was a 54-year-old conductor for Conrail that was attempting to back up a train containing two tank cars, a boxcar, and a locomotive onto an empty track. He had radioed the engineer and brakeman and directed them to put the cars onto the center track, then dismounted the...