Railroad Worker Gets $22M for Amputation of Left Heel

A $22.47 million verdict was handed down in the case of a railroad worker whose heel was torn off when two railroad cars collided on what was supposed to be parallel tracks, according to a press release. One of the largest Federal Employer Liability Act (FELA) verdicts, “it sends a clear message that railroads must be as concerned about safety as they are profits,” said John M. Power and George T. Brugess, the plaintiff’s attorneys.

According to the complaint, Michael Parsons, 34, of Joliet, was working as a conductor on Sept. 2, 2011 on the 51st Street yard, and was reorganizing railroad cars on several tracks. The complaint alleges that less than two months earlier, the railroad replaced switches and track, creating a safety hazard for workers in the yard. In making changes to the configuration, the railroad turned previously parallel tracks into an unsuspecting trap because they converged too closely for safe passage.

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The defense for Norfolk Southern Railroad Company argued that Parsons parked cars in an area that was a “no parking zone,” and as such created the dangerous condition, the release said. The railroad’s assertion was contradicted by dash-cam footage from the engine showing that other engineers on the 51st street yard had also left train cars on parallel tracks, just like Parsons. The jury ultimately agreed that the railroad was responsible for creating the dangerous condition and failing to properly inform employees at the 51st street yard, including Parsons.

According to the release, Parsons suffered a traumatic amputation of his left heel at the scene. When he arrived at the hospital, doctors found that the back half of his foot had no skin covering any of the essential structures. He had severed nerves, torn tendons and ligaments and needed a 15 square-inch skin graft cut out from his thigh to cover the heel area. Later his heel bone died and was removed and replaced by a bulky skin graft. Parsons could not bear weight on his foot for more than two years. When he finally did the graft ripped open, causing repeated infections that continue to plague him today. The jury heard evidence that for the rest of his life Parsons will go through three-month cycles of the heel skin breaking open, requiring that he take antibiotics to treat the infection and not bear any weight until it closes. His only other alternative is a leg amputation.

Parsons filed his claim under FELA, the exclusive remedy for railroad workers injured on the job. The trial lasted nine days and on Nov. 20, 2015, the jury returned a verdict of $22,470,102 in favor of the plaintiff and against Norfolk Southern Railway Company. The verdict allocated $474,102 for future medical expenses; $1.5 million in lost benefits and earnings; $1.5 million for disfigurement; and $19 million for pain and suffering.

The Honorable Judge Donald J. Suriano, Circuit Court of Cook County, presided over the trial. The trial occurred in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, No. 11 L 009265.