Eddie Curl v. BNSF
Mar 05, 2020OUTCOME: $1,290,000 jury verdict for the Plaintiff
On March 5, 2020, a Polk County jury awarded a $1, 290,000 verdict against the BNSF Railroad to a Quad-City man who severely injured his foot and ankle when he was forced to jump to safety from a derai ... ling train in Melrose, IA, in June of 2015. The Plaintiff’s condition gradually worsened after the accident, and his doctors ultimately diagnosed him with tarsal tunnel syndrome and complex regional pain syndrome. The Plaintiff underwent several nerve block injections and surgeries, ultimately having two spinal cord stimulators permanently installed into his back. The Plaintiff’s attorneys filed suit under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, the federal statute that protects injured railroad workers, and the case proceeded to an 8-day jury trial on February 24, 2020. The Defendant admitted that it was negligent for allowing the train to pass over three sections of washed-out track and causing the train to derail. However, it denied any causal relationship between the accident and the Plaintiff’s alleged injuries. The eight jurors heard testimony from the treating doctors as well as from expert witnesses in the fields of economics, vocational rehabilitation, life expectation, neurology, psychology, podiatry, orthopedics, and pain management. The Plaintiff and his father also testified. Attorneys for the railroad asked the jury to award the Plaintiff $12,000. After deliberating for just over four hours, the jury found unanimously for the Plaintiff, awarding him $500,000 for pain and suffering, $300,000 for future medical care, $390,000 for lost wages, and $100,000 for loss of household services. The Plaintiff was represented by Benjamin P. Tobin and Patrick R. D. Sullivan, of Pratt & Tobin, P.C., in East Alton, Illinois, and George F. Davison, of the Law Office of George F. Davison, Jr., LC serving as local counsel.
