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Railroad Injury/FELA
- Norfolk Southern Required to Pay Multi-Million Dollar Penalty for Accident Releasing Toxic Chlorine Gas
- Teens' Deaths Raise Questions Over Controlling Pedestrian Access to Train Tracks
- Fatal Commuter Train Crash in Belgium Apparently Due to Missing Automatic Braking System
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Firm News
- Attorney Discusses Legal Tactics Railroad Companies May Take in Court
Posted on 3/9/2010 - Attorney Takes CSX to Task Over Forcing Woman to Crawl Under Trains
Posted on 2/18/2010 - Attorney Discusses Norfolk Southern Train Derailment
Posted on 2/2/2010 - Attorney Examines the Battle between Amtrak and Railroad Worker Unions
Posted on 1/20/2010 - Attorney Discusses Railroad Companies Lack of Action with Asbestos
Posted on 1/19/2010
Library
Railroad Injury/FELA
- Railroad Worker Mesothelioma/Cancers: Learn Where the Toxic Asbestos Was and When the Rail Companies Knew It Was a Problem
- CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Other Rail Companies Looking at “Greener” Engines, but Appear to Neglect Health of Rail Workers.
- Here are some results from our railroad injury and FELA cases. After you've reviewed them, give our firm a call at 1-800-752-0042 for a free case analysis.
This is a list of our firm's case results. We can't guarantee you'll receive the same results, but we can guarantee we'll work tirelessly on your behalf and try to obtain the jury verdict/settlement you deserve.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.
Railroad conductor/back injury-surgery/Safety Appliance act Violations
Date: Spring 2009
Case: Railroad conductor/back injury-surgery/safety appliance act violations
Court: Confidential
Staff:
Richard N. Shapiro, attorney
T.C. Emory, investigator
Margaret Cudden, legal assistant,
Roslyn Hughes, paralegal
What happened:
A railroad conductor suffered an injury due to an insecure handhold/ladder on a train car causing a serious back injury. After undergoing epidural steroid injections in his back, he underwent back surgery with hardware and instrumentation placed in his back. Our client was unable to return to his job as a railroad conductor, and suffered substantial lost earnings and lost earning capacity because of the physical restrictions after the back surgery.
Key Law Firm strategy:
The railroad denied any liability whatsoever causing the worker's injury when he was mounting the train car. However, our client contended that the ladder/ handhold on the train car was insecure and not fastened properly. We contended that the condition violated the safety appliance act-both the statutory provisions, as well as various regulatory provisions enacted under the safety appliance act provisions. Our contention was that this was a regulatory violation that meant we did not have to produce evidence that the railroad knew of the condition in advance, even if the train car on the train was not owned by the railroad employer of our client. Accordingly, we obtained a top railroad safety expert, who had been a previous Federal Railroad administration inspector himself, to provide expert opinions. This expert pointed out the specific safety appliance act regulations that were violated because of the improperly secured ladder/handhold. Our law firm filed what is called a motion for summary judgment in which we asked the court to rule, well in advance of the jury trial, that the cause of the injury was a violation of the safety appliance act regulation. The railroad also filed a brief denying that the safety appliance act applied at all, and denying that it violated any regulation. Before the court ruled on our motion, the parties arrived at a settlement but the railroad required that the client's name and amount of the settlement be retained as confidential, which has been increasingly occurring in many large cases that our injury law firm handles. Our firm worked on this case about two years prior to settlement.
The amount of the settlement will allow our client to attend college or vocational training, and then enter the workplace in a different position which will not require nearly the level of physical duties that he previously was able to handle as a conductor with this railroad.
The Results: $825,000.00 Settlement/Details Confidential
Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the Northeast North Carolina (NC) border, practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's Virginia website is: hsinjurylaw.com, and North Carolina site is: http://Carolina.HSInurylaw.com/ and our injury firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.
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Case Results
DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT, AND THE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, WHILE ACCURATE, DO NOT REPRESENT WHAT WE MAY OBTAIN FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE.
Railroad Injury/FELA
- Shoulder Injury requiring surgery for Locomotive Engineer
- Locomotive Engineer with Shoulder and Knee Injuries
- Railroad Conductor gets back injury due to fall in ballast depression
- Railroad conductor/back injury-surgery/Safety Appliance act Violations
- Locomotive Engine Fire causes Rail Engineer right arm and wrist surgery
Awarded: The Jacksonville, Florida State Court jury returned a $978,000.00 verdict in favor of TA against the railroad.
Awarded: Several days before court-ordered mediation, the parties arrived at a settlement of $950,000.00.
Awarded: The case was settled for $900,000
Awarded: The case was settled at mediation for $700,000.00
FAQs
Railroad Injury/FELA
- I was just diagnosed with cancer or mesothelioma. No one ever told me before that it was connected to railroad work I did many years earlier. Can I still bring a railroad injury or disease claim?
- I have already retired from the railroad many years ago, do I still have a potential claim for an asbestos cancer or mesothelioma?
- How does anyone prove that the asbestos cancer or mesothelioma arose from exposure at the railroad?
- Is there any cost for your firm to analyze my potential railroad injury case involving cancer or mesothelioma?
- Is there evidence that railroads were using asbestos insulation in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and so forth?