I posted a complete article on Injuryboard about Pennsylvania FELA attorneys Mike Olley and David Lockard, who reported an important 2 million dollar FELA personal injury verdict in favor of railroad engineer that was returned May 2008, in Philadelphia state court in a case called Lockley v. CSX.
Lockley sued CSX alleging that the locomotive’s seats were low back style seats and were improperly mounted and braced in violation of the federal Locomotive Inspection Act, and in violation of the Federal Employers Liability Act. Ultimately, the plaintiff Lockley claimed the seat designs, combined with years of rough coupling, led to his cumulative spinal injuries.
The plaintiff’s lawyers did a great job in determining that the seats were improperly mounted and that alone could be considered a violation of the Locomotive Inspection Act. This allegation coupled with the others obviously convinced the jury of the overall fault of CSX. We have also written on our website explaining that in any FELA case alleging repetitive or cumulative tasks that cause injuries, our law firm’s personal injury lawyers usually also obtain expert testimony from an expert in ergonomics called an ergonomist (see the article for a full discussion of why ergonomics is important in an cumulative lifting case.