Daniel Hampton, a Member of the Transportation Practice Group, and local co-counsel Barry Loftus, recently received a defense verdict on behalf of a major railroad client in a two-day Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) trial in Indiana state court.
The plaintiff conductor/engineer alleged that walking on uneven and oversized ballast stone, and getting on and off of moving rail cars led to the development of degenerative changes and bilateral torn menisci in his knees, resulting in two arthroscopic knee surgeries and one total knee replacement surgery.
The defense team argued that the railroad client provided the plaintiff with a reasonably safe place to work and that his knee problems were the result of a motor vehicle accident unrelated to his allegations in the case.
The jury found that the railroad did provide the plaintiff with a reasonably safe place to work and rendered a defense verdict in its favor.
Note: The results obtained in a particular case are, of course, always heavily dependent on the facts and the law specific to that case.