Steve Young

Designated Legal Counsel

This week we tried a case in Fort Worth against the BNSF Railroad for Mr. Paul Willis. Paul injured his left knee on February 28, 2004 when he slipped on a "cleat" or small board that had fallen off a flat car. Paul inadvertently stepped on the edge of the cleat as he attempted to cross the track to line a switch. The cleat slid on mud that had pumped up between the rails.

The fall caused a torn meniscus in his knee which resulted in arthroscopic surgery in November 2004. Paul went back to work after the surgery and worked 5 more years. His knee continued to hurt and swell and at the age of 55, he finally had his knee replaced in November 2009. He was unable to return to work due to the knee replacement.

Despite being aware of an ongoing failure to pick up the cleats and to prevent the track from pumping, the railroad told the jury that it provided Paul with a safe place to work. After a grueling cross examination, the corporate railroad representative admitted the cleat and the pumping created an unsafe work place.

The Jury awarded Paul substantial damages for his case, including future wage loss. This is a great verdict for Paul and all railroad workers as the Jury correctly understood that the railroad owes its employees a safe place to work. The verdict sends a clear message to the railroad that we will aggressively fight for your right to work in a safe environment.

We were honored to represent Paul, who is a 35 year veteran railroader. We appreciate his confidence as we continue our mission to aggressively fight for and to protect the rights of rail workers!