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By Laurence Hammack
ROANOKE
A railroad worker who tripped on a cross tie and injured his ankle has been awarded $4.5 million, one of the largest personal injury jury verdicts in recent Roanoke history.
Following a week-long trial in Roanoke Circuit Court, a jury on Friday ordered Norfolk Southern Corp. to pay the amount to Welsh K. Davis, a former conductor and brakeman for the railroad.
The accident happened in 2008, when Davis was walking along the tracks in the materials yard of the Roanoke terminal, said one of his attorneys, Will Moody Jr. of Portsmouth, who tried the case with his partner, Mike Davis.
Welsh was using a remote control device to couple two freight cars to an engine when he tripped on a cross tie, which had been placed about three feet from the tracks and had steel rails stacked on top of it.
Weeds that had grown up around the tie obstructed Davis’ view and contributed to the accident, Moody said. The lawsuit accused the railroad of having an unsafe workplace, in part because of the weeds.
After tripping on the cross tie, Davis stepped in a depression and rolled his ankle. The injury tore a tendon in his right ankle, for which he had two surgeries.
Davis later developed complex regional pain syndrome, a condition that has left him unable to work and in almost constant pain, Moody said.
"He can barely walk, and when he does it’s with a cane," Moody said today.
An attorney who represented Norfolk Southern could not be reached immediately.
Because railroad workers are not covered by worker’s compensation, on-the-job accidents fall under the Federal Employers Liability Act, which requires proof that the railroad’s negligence caused an injury.
There have been a number of high-dollar verdicts in Roanoke under the law, including $4.7 million in 1993 to a former Norfolk Southern signalman who injured his back. That verdict was later reversed by the Virginia Supreme Court, and the case ended up being settled for an undisclosed amount.
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too high
The payout is too high plain and simple. Especially since half or two thirds is going to the lawyers.
There is so much ignorance
There is so much ignorance displayed in the comments here that I don't know where to begin. I'm going to disregard the FELA-bashing posts because I'm guessing they were made by railroad officials, claim agents and/or defense attorneys, and really, no surprise there, right?
What really irks me is all the nasty comments disparaging the jury and the plaintiff. Understand this: your knowledge about this case is limited to a few paragraphs you read online. The jury heard ALL the evidence as it was presented by both sides during a 5 day trial. But I guess in your infinite wisdom, y'all still know better than this jury or any jury, for that matter. Who needs facts when you already know it all?
Dear Mr. Moody
Or you surrogate--whichever wrote this comment--the fact is, you know very well that this verdict will most likely be reversed or the payout greatly reduced. You also know that the practice of FELA law is a cash cow for plaintiff attorneys, and that they game the system just like some one playing slots in a casino or buying lottery tickets. And finally, you know quite well that juries are swayed by emotional statements and are selected carefully on the high likelihood that they will revel in "punishing" a big company by awarding a big jackpot verdict.
So stop your charade and at least be honest about how the system works.
If ignorance is bliss, you must be a happy camper...
News flash, Camper, both sides are involved in jury selection. You act as if the plaintiff got to hand pick the jury all by himself.
I am not being dishonest about how the system operates, clearly you just don't know how it works. So stop pretending and ask yourself who's really playing the system: law firms who represent injured workers, or railroads who don't provide a safe workplace and then refuse to deal fairly with an employee who was hurt by their negligence?
It seems to me Norfolk Southern was the one "rolling the bones" here. It's one thing to gamble with your own money, and another to gamble with a man's life.
I Think its Great
People always complain when there is a large verdict, but none of these complainers were on that jury. Somehow people make the illogical leap that the jury must have screwed up, when in fact, they heard all the evidence and were instructed on the applicable law before they reached a verdict and the complainers in fact have no idea what all the evidence was. And how many injured people got nothing in their trial, but that's OK. We have the best legal system on this earth. A group of good people heard the evidence and did what they thought was right based on that evidence. No complaints here. Any of you folks really know what that man has been through and will go through. Until you really do, I would not just assume the verdict was unfair
Wow,,,,,
Wow is all I can say. I get hit by a drunk driver while I'm working and I'm not really entitled to squat because the drunk doesn't own anything. I can't work and lost my job and this guy trips and falls and gets millions of dollars. The drunk that hit me goes right back to work after getting out of jail for 30 days. Wow is all I can say.
FELA Is RR's Own Fault
FELA is the legacy today's railroads got after gross mistreatment of employees during the late 1800 and 1900's caught up with them. Deaths and dismemberments were out of control back then and the Federal government came up with FELA as a result. At one point many RR's would not hire a man as a brakeman if he wasn't missing fingers! He wasn't considered "experienced"!
The industry has tried over a dozen times to get FELA repealed without success since passage in 1915. The RR's are just experiencing payback for all the dead and injured they caused many years ago.
British
The British have a system where, should a plaintiff not convince at least a quarter of the jury to side with them, they pay the other guy's court costs/lawyer fees.
Something we badly need to adopt.
FELA
FELA - the plaintiff prostitute's dream. 4.5 million for a trip and fall. Amazing. And we wonder why manufacturing and industry has fled America in droves.
Lawyers LOVE FELA
Any attempt to place railroad workers under workers compensation will have every attorney in the country crying foul,and the American Bar Association preparing for battle. FELA is a piece of turn of the century insanity that they defend and protect because of its obscene profitability; singling out the rail industry as the mother lode of personal injury lawsuits for on the job injuries. And rail workers see it as a fringe benefit. I would not be surprised if each new employee receives an introductory 'just in case' letter from their local friendly barrister.