CSX Engineer Falls Due to Broken Sun-Visor ---Anterior Lumbar Fusion Required -- Georgia Jury Returns $1 Million Verdict.

We thank plaintiff's counsel, Ben Saunders, for the report of this case. The Plaintiff, an engineer, stopped his train at the Johns-Manville crossing in Winder, Georgia, in order to allow his conductor to get off the train and direct traffic because crossing signals were not working. As plaintiff descended the steps to the restroom, a broken sun-visor (left on the engine at an earlier point in time) jarred from the water cooler and onto the stairs. Unfortunately, the sun-visor was not observable by plaintiff. It caught the cuff of plaintiff's pants. As plaintiff tried to dislodge the sun-visor, he turned and fell backwards down the stairs to the bottom of the floor in the cab of the engine. He suffered three ruptured discs; one in the neck and two in the lower back. Anterior lumbar fusion was required as to the highest back disc. Plaintiff was left unable to work as a locomotive engineer. The jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff for $1 million at the conclusion of a four-day trial.

Plaintiff's Experts: Kenneth N. Adatto, M.D., orthopedic surgery. Kathleen Robbins, Ph.D., vocational rehabilition. Defendant's Expert: Charles Manning, Ph.D., reconstruction Sammy A. McMurtry v. CSX Transportation, Barrow County (GA) Superior Court, Case No. 04CV-133. Benjamin B. Saunders of Davis-Saunders, Mandeville, LA for Plaintiff. James W. Purcell, Augusta, GA for defendant.