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Straight
Track #251
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Engineer Awarded $1,390,000.00 For Spinal
Injuries Resulting From Locomotive Vibration
George Brugess,
Attorney
Hoey & Farina
brugess@hoeyfarina.com
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Designated Counsel James L. Farina, of the law firm of
Hoey and Farina, is proud to report that his colleague, George Brugess,
has obtained a verdict in the sum of $1,390,000.00 on behalf of Jerry
Morgan for spinal injuries sustained as a result of years of exposure to
excessive locomotive vibration.
On Thursday, March 29, a Louisville, Kentucky jury
rendered a verdict in favor of Engineer Morgan and against the Paducah &
Louisville Railway.
The railroad had so much confidence in its defense that
it offered only $15,000.00 to settle Mr. Morgan's Federal Employers'
Liability Act claim before trial!
Mr. Morgan worked as a locomotive engineer for Defendant, Paducah &
Louisville Railway, for most of his adult life. Throughout that time he
was constantly exposed to an unreasonable hazard of personal injury
because of unremitting vibration.
Plaintiff and several of his coworkers (including Butch
Loe and John Thompson) testified that Paducah & Louisville Railway's
locomotives had a noticeably harder ride and considerably more vibration
than the locomotives of other railroads which they occasionally
operated.
Plaintiff's liability expert, William Bogett, testified
that, in his opinion, the excess vibrations on Paducah & Louisville
Railway locomotives violated the Locomotive Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. 20701.
The manner of construction and lack of maintenance resulted in excess
vibration, and unreasonably increased the hazard of injury to railroad
employees assigned to those engines.
As a result of the hard ride and vibrations from the
Paducah & Louisville Railway engines, Jerry Morgan's spine became
severely degenerated. He underwent extensive surgery to his thoracic
spine, including implanting of rods and cages to stabilize his spine.
His physician, Dr. Richard Holt, unequivocally testified that Mr.
Morgan's spinal degeneration was caused by the vibrations of the
locomotives he operated at work.
Dr. Holt's opinions are substantiated by peer-reviewed
medical research establishing the causal connection between excess
locomotive vibration and spinal degeneration in locomotive engineers.
Mr. Morgan is only fifty-one years old. His last day
worked was in September of 2002. He is totally and permanently disabled.
Congratulations and thanks to George Brugess – and the
rest of the Team at Hoey and Farina – for this great victory for a
deserving railroader.
If you have any questions regarding this matter or any
FELA issue, please contact our office at (888) 425-1212 or via
email at info@hoeyfarina.com.
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