Situation:
Union Pacific Railroad Engineer Leaping from Moving Freight Train Results in Railroad Accident
In this case, the railroad accident attorneys at Peter Higgins Law represented a 42 year-old student engineer working for the Union Pacific Railroad, who was operating the locomotive of a freight train alongside his UP instructor near Dixon, IL. As the train came around a curve going almost 35 miles per hour, our client spotted another train parked on the same track ahead of him. He immediately asked his instructor if the train ahead was parked on the same track. When his instructor started running toward the rear door of the locomotive and jumped, our client applied the emergency brakes (thereby avoiding a major disaster), then jumped too. Our client broke his ankle, dislocated his shoulder and herniated a disk in his back. He ended up needing back, ankle and shoulder surgeries. He also developed post-traumatic stress. He was never able to return to work for the railroad, but did return to work as a security guard.
The railroad accident attorneys at Peter Higgins Law originally filed suit against the UP under the Federal Employers Liability Act ("FELA"), for failing to provide our client with a reasonably safe place to work. Unlike workers compensation laws, however, the FELA does not automatically give a worker the right to recover simply by proving that the injuries occurred at work. A railroad worker must still prove that the railroad was negligent in order to recover.
During the case, our Illinois train accident lawyers learned that these locomotives are equipped with safety devices called "Automatic Train Controls" (ATC). The ATC is designed to prevent one train from rear-ending another ahead of it on the same track. We obtained maintenance records on the locomotive involved, took depositions of UP employees and learned that this locomotive had been taken out of service for having a defective ATC at least five times in the two years before the incident. More importantly, we discovered that the ATC was not working properly at the time of the incident. After our investigation and discovery uncovered the defective ATC, we amended the Complaint to include a Count under the Locomotive Inspection Act ("LIA"). The LIA makes the railroad automatically liable if there is found to be any defective safety devices on the locomotive while it is being operated.
Successful Resolution: $2,450,000
Shortly after amending the Complaint and adding the LIA count, Peter Higgins Law' railroad accident lawyers filed a Motion for Summary Judgment against the UP, asking the judge to rule in our client's favor on the LIA count. This move forced the UP's hand, and they requested an immediate mediation settlement conference before our motion could be heard. We prepared a mediation booklet for the mediator (a retired judge) which spelled out our case against the UP and provided details of our client's injuries and damages, both past and future, complete with records, photographs, and other exhibits. We flew our client and a financial advisor in from Atlanta for the conference. After a full day of mediation, the case was successfully settled for $2.45 million.
Have you or someone you know been injured in a railroad accident? Our knowledgeable personal injury lawyers understand FELA laws and are here to help you receive the appropriate compensation.