FELA Railroad Injury Settlements
Personal injury lawyers in Chicago at The Healy Law Firm has assisted the SettlementBoard editorial team in identifying topics of importance to readers of this blog.
Signal Maintainer Settles FELA Suit with Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern settled a FELA suit with a signal maintainer about two months after it had been filed.
Steve Gonzalez wrote about the story in "Norfolk Southern settles FELA suit filed by signal maintainer." Plaintiff Timothy Gasper worked as a signal maintainer for the railway and was injured when a train struck his vehicle. He sustained neck and shoulder injuries from the accident. After several years of employment with the railway, he had also developed repetitive stress injuries, which were incorporated in his claim. The suit alleged that Norfolk had failed to put proper safety controls in place, was understaffed and did not provide adequate tools.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Gasper had originally sought $50,000 in damages.
BNSF, Worker Settle $2.3 Million FELA Suit
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. (BNSF) settled a FELA suit for $2.3 million with railroad engineer Thomas Joe Carney.
In her article "Worker reaches $2.3 settlement with BNSF in St. Louis Circuit Court," Kelly Wiese reported that Carney was driving a BNSF train when it ran over rough track. Carney sustained back and neck injuries that required extended medical treatment and suffered chronic pain. He alleged in his lawsuit that BNSF had failed to provide a safe workplace or to keep the tracks in proper condition to avoid accidents.
The judge approved the settlement for Carney and also opened the door for BNSF to collect from Ralph Whitehead Associates Inc., which designed the track project.
FELA Settlement Reached Between Railroad Worker and Switching Company
After a catastrophic on-the-job injury that required amputation of both of his legs, a railroad switchman filed a lawsuit with the switching company under FELA.
A bnet.com news brief, "Train strikes worker: FELA violations: Inadequate training: Falsified records: Leg amputations: Structured settlement," reported that the switchman's medical expenses totaled around $230,000. His left leg was amputated at the hip, and the right leg below the knee.
The lawsuit alleged that the switchman had not been adequately trained for the job and that the train engineer failed to sound his horn to warn of the train's approach.
Defendants argued that as a switching company and not a railway carrier, it was not liable under FELA and that the worker was only entitled to workers' compensation. The parties worked out a structured settlement of $8.63 million.
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