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Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Schumpert11/10/2004
Under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), railroad companies are liable for injuries to their employees that result in whole or in part from company negligence. In this case, company negligence caused a railroad-car coupling device to fall to the ground. Conductor James Hugh Schumpert injured his back when he replaced the 90- pound device. The main issue presented here is whether his injury can be said to have resulted, either in whole or in part, from the negligence that caused the device to fall.
Schumpert sued Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSRC) for his injury and based his complaint on FELA, and the Federal Safety Appliance Act (FSAA). Following a jury trial, NSRC moved for a directed verdict with regard to both claims. The trial court granted the motion on the FSAA claim but denied it on the FELA claim. Thereafter, the jury returned a verdict against NSRC in the amount of $596,681.41, which was entered as the court's judgment. NSRC moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for new trial. The trial court denied the motions, and NSRC appeals.
The standard of review in this situation is well known: In determining whether the trial court erred by denying [the appellant's] . . . motion for judgment n.o.v., this court must view and resolve the evidence and any doubt or ambiguity in favor of the verdict. A directed verdict and judgment n.o.v. are not proper unless there is no conflict in the evidence as to any material issue and the evidence introduced, with all reasonable deductions therefrom, demands a certain verdict.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Irwin County v. Owens, 256 Ga. App. 359, 360 (2) (568 SE2d 578) (2002).
The parties largely agree on the material facts. Construing those facts in favor of the verdict, the evidence shows that Schumpert was the NSRC conductor assigned to move a train from Atlanta to Commerce, Georgia, on August 20, 1999. During the trip, some of the train cars had to be turned around, which required a switching operation. Utility brakeman Debra Lusk assisted with this operation, which involved separating some of the cars to turn them around and then reassembling the train.
The part of a train car's coupler that interlocks with another car's coupler is called a "knuckle." Knuckles, which are attached to drawbars that are fastened to the housing of the train car, are designed to break-off under certain conditions so as not to damage the drawbar and the car itself. A "knuckle pin" holds the knuckle in place when the knuckle is in the open position, but a pin is not required when the knuckle is in the closed position (even when the car is coupled to another car). In order to perform the required switching operation, Lusk had to open knuckles on cars that were going to be connected to the reassembled train. Lusk negligently failed to notice a missing pin on one knuckle, and when she opened it, the knuckle fell harmlessly to the ground.
Schumpert was 200 to 300 yards away at the time, but he came over to help. Lusk was pregnant, which Shumpert had heard, and so Schumpert decided to replace the knuckle himself. There was expert testimony that replacing knuckles is a two-man job, but there was also testimony that it could be performed by one person. Schumpert believed that he was capable of replacing the knuckle himself because he had done so "over and over again" in the past; he considered it a regular part of his job. In fact, he had replaced a different knuckle earlier that same day. Lusk, too, had replaced four knuckles by herself in the past.
The parties do not dispute on appeal that Schumpert was injured as a result of lifting the knuckle to replace it. And there is no
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