By Richard N. Shapiro, FELA and Railroad Injury Attorney

A BNSF switchman who in November 2008 had to jump from a moving locomotive to avoid even more serious injuries or possibly death in a rail yard crash, came away from the wreck with an ankle so injured he is now considering amputation to prevent further complications.

On February 4, 2010, a jury in Los Angeles, CA, awarded the man $4.9 million for past and future medical expenses and suffering. BNSF was found at fault for the collision because radio communication equipment between the switchman and an engineer failed to operate correctly.

My colleagues and I have decades of experience representing switchmen, brakemen and conductors who have suffered on-the-job injuries or developed occupational illnesses such as cancer, asbestosis or mesothelioma. Working with clients, we see on an almost daily basis how dangerous trains, tracks and rail yards are — whether a person is an employee of Amtrak, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern or Union Pacific.

News reports do not detail the strategy used by the plaintiff’s attorney, but do note that railroad employees cannot receive compensation or bring suit under standard workplace safety laws. It may be that BNSF was held responsible under obligations spelled out in the Locomotive Safety Inspection Act, or LSIA.

Regardless, the important news is a rail employee injured on-the-job due to his employers’ alleged negligence was able to hold the responsible party to account.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is an injury law firm with a long history of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Our offices are in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our lawyers hold licenses in VA, NC, SC, WV, KY and DC and have handled hundreds of railroad injury and FELA cases throughout the eastern United States. We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, including Dos and Don’ts When Injured at a Railroad — Yours FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Won’t Tell You (But You Must Know). We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at (800) 752-0042 before giving any statement or talking to a railroad claims agent. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Furthermore, our lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.