Paul D. Arnold v. Montana Rail Link, Inc.

Montana Rail Link employed Plaintiff as a Locomotive Engineer for 16 years during which he operated a wide variety of diesel locomotives that were equipped with seats commonly used throughout the U.S. railroad industry. Significantly, Plaintiff testified that 95% of the locomotives he operated over the course of his MRL career were owned and maintained by BNSF Railway Co. and its predecessor railroads. During the late fall of 2003, Plaintiff began experiencing significant cervical and lumbar pain that progressed to the point where he sought medical care from his family physician. In December 2003, Plaintiff's family physician removed him from service and ordered MRI scans to determine the condition of his spine. After the MRI scans demonstrated some mild degenerative changes and bulging discs at C5-6 and L4-5, the family physician prescribed physical therapy and referred Plaintiff for a neurosurgical consult. After the neurosurgeon determined that there was no surgical lesion, Plaintiff continued to undergo conservative medical treatment. Eventually, Plaintiff's ongoing pain complaints led his treating physician to opine that his spinal degeneration was probably work related and that he should not return to the locomotive cab environment and should instead seek alternative employment.

Plaintiff thereafter filed suit against MRL alleging negligence and violation of the Federal Locomotive Inspection Act. Plaintiff and four co-workers testified in detail during trial about inadequate cab seats, rough-riding locomotives, poorly maintained cab seats and locomotives, and rough track conditions, all of which resulted in what Plaintiff and his co-workers described as excessive vibrational and in-cab forces including frequently violent lateral and vertical motion. Plaintiff alleged these forces cumulatively caused premature spinal degeneration.

MRL vigorously denied Plaintiff's negligence and LIA claims, and hired forensic experts to conduct locomotive vibration and ride quality testing to defend against Plaintiff's claims. Plaintiff raised serious questions at trial about validity and fairness of the MRL's forensic testing. MRL also contended that Plaintiff's FELA claims were preempted by Federal law, which the district court rejected. MRL also retained a nationally recognized orthopedic surgeon from the University of Washington in Seattle who opined at trial that Plaintiff's spinal condition was nothing more than normal age-related changes and that his spinal condition would have been exactly the same had he never worked on a locomotive.

Following a six-day trial, a six-member jury unanimously rejected MRL's defenses and returned a verdict for Plaintiff with a specific finding that MRL violated the LIA, that such violation caused Plaintiff's spinal injuries, and awarded Plaintiff $550,000.00 in damages.

Eric J. Kress, M.D., Missoula Montana (treating family medicine); Michael R. Kelly, M.D., Lansing, Michigan (forensic occupational medicine); Robert J. Marley, Ph.D., Bozeman, Montana (industrial safety); William H. Muzzy, III, Pensacola, Florida (cab seats); Tyler A. Kress, Ph.D., Knoxville, Tennessee (ergonomics and biomechanics); Dennis J. O’Donnell, Ph.D., Missoula, Montana (forensic economics).

Robert L. Pizialli, Ph.D., San Carlos, California (mechanical engineering and locomotive ride quality testing); Randale C. Sechrest, M.D., Missoula, Montana (treating orthopedic surgeon); Stanley J. Bigos, M.D., Seattle, Washington (forensic orthopedic surgery and epidemiology); Gary Wolf, Scottsdale, Georgia (locomotive, locomotive cab seat and track maintenance).