FELA Online
An Online Resource for Railroaders and Their Families





Lawyers devoted to helping railroad workers and their families get their lives back on track following on the job injuries. 




Case Results



Below are selected verdicts from actual trials. Every case is different. The common thread in these cases is that they indicate the willingness of Michael Warshauer to try an FELA case if the railroad defendant will not settle the case on terms that are fair to his clients.

 
  • $750,000 - Plaintiff suffered a mental injury after his crew caused the train he was on to collide with a building. He was not physically injured although he was scared that he could have been. The railroad refused to recognize that an emotional injury can be just as devastating as a physical one and made no settlement offers.  
  • $5 Million - Plaintiff, a track supervisor, was operating his hi-rail truck while inspecting track. A train stopped ahead of his hi-rail in an unusual location, and as a result, Mr. Blackmon crashed into the back of the standing train and was seriously injured. Defendants offered $25,000.00 prior to trial.
  • $2,305,165.00 - Plaintiff suffered a knee injury trying to stop a runaway cut of cars. He could not return to work on the railroad. Defendant's last offer, made while the jury was out, was $60,000.00.
  • $2,082,281.25 - Plaintiff was injured at Martin Marietta when he stepped in a hole covered and obscured by weeds, injuring his low back. Prior to trial the Defendant offered less than $200,000.00. The subsequent verdict was the highest ever obtained in Talbot County, Georgia
  • $2 Million - Plaintiff, a cub engineer with little training, jumped from his locomotive when it was about to strike a truck stuck on the tracks at a grade crossing. He suffered internal injuries as well as a closed head injury. This case settled prior to trial.
  • $1.9 Million - Plaintiff was killed in a collision between two Norfolk Southern trains. The railroad offered $900,000.00 to settle the case.
  • $1.8 Million - Plaintiff was attempting to throw a flip flop derail when it hung up on him, injuring his neck and requiring surgery. He was not able to return to his former railroad job. The railroad offered $150,000.00.
  • $1.8 Million - Plaintiff was injured in a grade crossing collision with a log truck. His physical injuries were minor, but he developed serious post traumatic stress syndrome. The case settled just prior to trial to spare the Plaintiff the emotional stress of trial.
  • $1.5 Million - Plaintiff was a crew man on a locomotive engine which caught fire. He suffered smoke inhalation. Sixty-nine days later he died unexpectedly. The railroad claimed his death was the result of sickle cell complications. The railroad initially offered $25,000.00. Prior to trial, the offer was $300,000.00. Prior to jury deliberations, the offer was $500,000.00.
  • $1.25 Million - This was a combined FELA and products liability case. Plaintiff was injured when a ratchet wrench slipped causing him to injure his back and aggravate a pre-existing back condition. The defendants refused to make any settlement offers.
  • $1.1 Million - Plaintiff was injured because mud alongside the track caused his foot to slip as he mounted the side ladder of a car.
  • $1,025,746.20 - Defendant's offer, for this unreported injury caused by a defective cut lever, was less than $100,000.00 at the time of trial.
  • $1 Million - This verdict was for an engineer who was injured when he was attempting to adjust the seat on his locomotive.
  • $850,000.00 - This verdict was for a clerk who claimed to have injured his neck by answering the telephone with the wrong kind of phone and he had a bad work station.
  • $796,000.00 - Plaintiff was injured when his train hit a log truck. Prior to the collision, he had suffered a serious fall from a trestle and was still getting medical care from that incident.
  • $700,000.00 - Plaintiff, a 59 year-old man, injured his wrist and shoulder while attempting to release a difficult hand brake. Defendant withdrew its offer of $350,000.00 during trial.
  • $700,000.00 - Plaintiff was injured when his train hit a log truck in a grade crossing collision. Plaintiff had just returned to work from a previous on the job injury involving multiple fractures. The Defendant's last offer before trial was $75,000.00.
  • $516,483.00 - Plaintiff was a shop craft employee who tripped and fell over a chock which was placed in her work area. The verdict was more than double the railroads offer before trial.
  • $1,000,000.00 - Plaintiff was required to adjust the seat on the locomotive but it jammed, injuring his neck and aggravating a pre-existing bone spur. The last offer before trial was $300,000.00.
  • $1,500,000.00 - Plaintiff was injured when he sat in a chair in a depot. The chair collapsed and Plaintiff injured his back. The last offer before trial was $150,000.00.
  • $1,050,000.00 - Plaintiff injured her knee when a van backed into her. Plaintiff's settlement will eventually pay her more than $4,000,000.00.