SITUATION
- Our client’s Plaintiff claimed supervisor crushed knee and ankle in door after disagreement about uniform
- Further claimed he was threatened with retaliation if he were to file an injury report
OUR APPROACH
- Defense was that the attack never happened and Plaintiff invented the claim to avoid disciplinary action after insubordination
- Client argued that Plaintiff would have been dismissed even if he had not filed injury report
- Cross examination of doctors revealed that Plaintiff had long-standing degenerative conditions in both knee and ankle. Orthopedic expert testified that knee and ankle issues were pre-existing, chronic arthritis and not acute or traumatic in origin
- Defense claimed that HR statements used at trial were confidential and cumulative, and that the photo used was not a reenactment, and was irrelevant to fair and impartial hearing
RESULTS
- 12-person jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois rendered verdict of no liability on the issue of retaliation—the first FRSA jury verdict in Illinois
- Judge directed a verdict against Plaintiff – delay of medical treatment – at end of all evidence
MGS KEYS TO SUCCESS
- In depth knowledge of medical depositions
- Thorough understanding of railyard operations to demonstrate attack could not have happened