Jury awards Trainman $222,000 for inhalation injury

On May 24, 2007 a Tarrant County Jury awarded Jason Manley $222,032.00 for inhalation injuries that Jason experienced while working for BNSF. Jason was bleeding cars off in Slaton Yard in order to switch car. As he approached a tank car, he realized that the car was leaking a liquid, but some of the liquid (fluorosilicic acid) got on him before he could get away.

Minutes later Jason became very ill and passed out. While being transported to a local emergency room Jason experienced three “gran maul” seizures. Jason’s primary injury was damage to his lungs. The chemical “burned” some of the lining in his airways, reducing his breathing capacity and causing him to be very sensitive to dust and other fumes in the air.

The good news was that Jason recovered and was able to return to work at the railroad. He went back to work after being off about four months and continues to work today. Jason’s had a wage loss of about $20,000.00 for the 4 months of lost wages. The Jury awarded about $110,000.00 for future medical costs as Jason is required to use an inhaler on a regular basis and will have to have annual checkups. Settlement efforts were unsuccessful and the case was tried in Ft. Worth during the week of May 21, 2007.

This was a great victory for injured rail workers. Evidently BNSF did not think the Tavormina & Young firm would go all the way with what appeared to be a small case. However, Tavormina & Young are dedicated to protecting the rights of all rail workers as the verdict substantiates.