WILLIAMSON -- A Mingo County jury has found that Norfolk Southern Railway Company was not at fault for causing injuries to an employee of the Norfolk, Va. based railroad.
Douglas Caraway, a lifelong resident of Mingo County, sued his employer under the Federal Employers' Liability Act alleging that he suffered injuries to his shoulder and knee as a result of negligent working conditions.
Melissa Foster Bird of Huddleston Bolen in Huntington represented Norfolk Southern in the trial. Robert Schmeider of Pratt & Tobin in East Alton, Ill., and Jerry Lyall of Williamson represented the plaintiff.
Caraway worked for Norfolk Southern for 28 years as a carman and claimed that the railroad was liable for his injuries as a result of working in an unsafe railroad yard. He alleged that the walking conditions were uneven, cluttered and built in a way to cause degenerative injury to his joints.
The railroad argued that any injuries that he might have sustained were not the result of any work-related condition.
After deliberating for 30 minutes, the jury returned a verdict in Norfolk Southern's favor on the basis that Caraway was not injured during the course of his employment with Norfolk Southern. Judge Michael Thornsbury presided over the trial.
Mingo jury sides with Norfolk Southern over employee's injuries
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