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In early June, the Montana Supreme Court called for stricter sanctions against BNSF Railway, the second largest freight railroad company in North America, which allegedly destroyed surveillance footage of a railroad accident involving one of their workers. The court has also called for a new trial for the railroad worker’s negligence lawsuit in question.
Background On FELA Lawsuit
Plaintiff Mark S. filed this Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) lawsuit claiming he became disabled back in September 2009, allegedly while on the job as a BNSF machinist at their diesel shop located in Havre, Mont.
According to his FELA lawsuit, Mark’s coworker was allegedly in the process of lowering a train engine compartment when the rope slipped, and in doing so caused the locomotive hatch to fall on Mark’s head. The plaintiff had been wearing a hard hat at the time of alleged working accident, but despite this safety precaution he still suffered neck pains and headaches from blow.
BNSF employs surveillance cameras at their workplace 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every 15 to 30 days, the digital recording system for these cameras overwrites old footage with new footage, unless of course a video-footage request is submitted.
According to Mark’s FELA lawsuit, he requested a copy of this surveillance footage during his post-accident interview with BNSF and again during the discovery process when he originally sued the railroad company in 2010. However, BNSF allegedly never referenced the surveillance footage nor provided it to Mark or the court.
In his deposition, a BNSF foreman testified that he had reviewed the footage following the incident and determined that because the camera did not capture the injury itself, there was no pertinent evidence to preserve. Although Mark demanded a default judgment against BNSF for discovery abuses, the Montana state district court denied his this motion. Although a jury ruled in favor of the railway company in 2013, the Supreme Court recently decided that Mark deserves a new trial for his FELA lawsuit.
Supreme Court Decision on Lower Court Ruling
The Montana Supreme Court found it hard to believe that BNSF failed to preserve the video footage, and furthermore called the railway company “a seasoned and sophisticated corporate litigant well aware of its obligations when responding to workplace violations and employee injuries and accidents.”
On behalf of the majority vote of the Montana Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of a new trial for this FELA lawsuit six to one, Judge Patricia Cotter states:
“Although BNSF clearly knows better than to dispose of video footage of an accident scene, it is simply not possible to determine whether the destruction of the evidence was intentional or inadvertent. … However, we do conclude that the District Court abused its discretion when it declined to impose a meaningful sanction on the railroad, and instead fashioned a ruling that ultimately rewarded rather than punished BNSF for its destruction of evidence.”
Mark is not the only employer filing a FELA lawsuit. Many workers are filing these types of complaints against their employers, seeking compensation for injuries and damages incurred while on the job for a railroad company.
Obtain a Free Railroad Injury Case Evaluation
If you or a loved one suffered a railroad injury on the job, you may be eligible to take legal action against the employer and seek compensation for your injuries.
