Appeals panel affirms $525K FELA award

By Jordyn Reiland jreiland@lawbulletinmedia.com

Posted October 28, 2019 11:26 AM

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a $525,000 verdict against a railroad company whose former employee sued them for injuries he sustained on the job.Plaintiff Marvin Abernathy sued Eastern Illinois Railroad Co. under the Federal Employers Liability Act, alleging he was not given proper equipment to safely do his job repairing and replacing railroad ties.Abernathy suffered a back injury and a crushed finger while manually lifting railroad ties that fell from the backhoe.“When a railroad assigns an …

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