Mike Nolan and Mary Kate Mullen obtained a defense verdict on behalf of The Kansas City Southern Railway Co. in a week-long jury trial in St. Louis County, Missouri.
The plaintiff, a KCSR employee, alleged that KCSR violated the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, Federal Safety Appliance Act and the Locomotive Inspection Act by failing to provide a reasonably safe place to work. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that he injured his shoulder while releasing a defective locomotive handbrake. The Firm successfully argued that, because the plaintiff could not identify any handbrake defect and because the plaintiff’s injury pre-existed the alleged incident, KCSR was not liable.