Brian is a 31 year-old LIRR electrician. Or at least he was until a portion of his ring finger on his right hand was severed in an on-the-job accident. He sued the railroad and after less than three days of trial, a jury awarded him almost $2 million for his injury and wage loss.
Topics: LIRR, FELA recovery, lost wages, FELA injury, wage loss calculator, trials, finger injury
Close to three years ago, John*, 34, was an assistant signalman with three years on the job with LIRR.
One morning while running innerduct under a platform, a large piece of concrete debris – a leftover from an old platform – broke off pinching his right wrist and trapping him under the platform. A coworker had to lift the concrete off his wrist. What he thought at the time was an injury he could work through and recover from, turned out to be career ending.
John reported his injury and was temporarily removed from service pending a visit to an orthopedist the next day. That began 22 months of referrals to specialists and four separate EMG studies, because John developed clawing of his ring and pinky fingers. With that also came 50% loss grip strength in his right, dominant, hand. The railroad medically disqualified him from his job 10 months later.
This month a jury ordered LIRR to pay John more than $3 million for his injury after it was revealed that the railroad knew about the old hazardous concrete but didn’t make any effort to remove it. What is remarkable about this case is how the verdict numbers break down:
Topics: LIRR, FELA v Workers' Comp, FELA recovery, lost wages, FELA injury, how much is my case worth?
"The Unions' final offer is the most reasonable." These are the closing words of Presidential Emergency Board 245. PEB 245 was the LIRR effort at a do-over.
This outcome should be no surprise since the unions accepted wholly the recommendations of PEB 244 while the LIRR came to PEB 245 with an approach that prompted the new board to state, "The lack of notice and bargaining on substantial issues in the Carrier's final offer is of significant concern."
Translated, this means the railroad tried to pull a fast one, throwing out four years of efforts and inserting new issues and terms into the negotiations.
Last week President Obama signed an Executive Order concerning how the Long Island Railroad and unions resolve disagreements. It was nice to see the issue get a little press, but reading an article about it over weekend reminded me that most people have no idea what is really at stake.
