A divided Missouri appellate panel has upheld a $12 million jury verdict in favor of a Kansas City Southern Railway switchman who was run over by a train in Illinois. The verdict is one of the largest railroad injury verdicts in St. Louis County’s history.
In a 2-1 ruling, the majority rejected claims by Kansas City Southern Railway, represented by Husch Blackwell, arguing that St. Louis County Circuit Judge David Lee Vincent III erred in ruling the defendant was not entitled to a contributory negligence defense on a negligence per se theory brought by the plaintiff, Christopher Cole. The Eastern District of Missouri Court of Appeals issued the ruling in Cole v. The Kansas City Southern Railway Company on Tuesday.
However, the decision has sparked concern about forum shopping. Missouri Appellate Judge Cristian M. Stevens, in a dissenting opinion, noted, “Here, we take irrational disparity to a new level: FELA will mean one thing in Illinois and another thing in Missouri even with regard to identical accidents in Illinois to which the same Illinois safety regulation applies.”
More details on the case and the dissenting opinion can be accessed here.