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Railroad Employee Recovers Confidential Sum for Injuries Suffered in a Lifting Injury

SCLA Staff                    Randall E. Appleton, attorney
                                    Becky Wyatt, legal assistant
                                    Herbert Wooten, investigator

Case Description          Railroad worker injured lifting a gas cylinder

What Happened          The Railroad worker suffered a shoulder injury attempting to lift a gas cylinder.  The cylinder slipped during the lift and the Railroad worker suffered an injury to his shoulder attempting to regain control of the cylinder.  The Railroad worker had previously seen his family doctor with complaints of shoulder pain and had been referred to an orthopedist for a consultation.  The appointment for the consultation had been scheduled prior to the Railroad worker’s injury for roughly two weeks subsequent to the injury.  The Railroad worker did not immediately report the injury to his employer for fear of retaliation; however, the orthopedist noted findings of a recent injury at the time of his consultation and when pressed by the orthopedist, the Railroad worker provided a description of the on-duty injury.  The orthopedist advised the Railroad worker to report his injury to his employer and told the Railroad worker his injury prevented him from being able to safely perform his duties with the railroad.  Following his appointment with the orthopedist, the Railroad worker returned to his job and reported his injury.  The Railroad worker’s on site supervisor reported the injury to a higher level official who traveled approximately 50 miles with another official to personally discuss the incident with the Railroad worker.  By the time the meeting had concluded, the Railroad worker had written a statement describing the causes of the injury as an incident at home and stating the railroad was not liable for his injuries.  The Railroad worker’s testimony at deposition was that he prepared the statement at the direction of the official and out of fear of losing his job.  Once the statement was finished, the official advised the Railroad worker he was on medical hold and had no further contact with the Railroad worker.

Key Legal Strategy      The depositions of the officials involved in the composition of the Railroad worker’s statement was videotaped and revealed circumstances which bolstered the Railroad worker’s rationale behind the statement.  The depositions also revealed the Railroad worker had not been provided with basic equipment designed to assist in the handling of the subject tank.