Railroad Defense Verdict

GWB partner Ron Wray recently participated with lawyers from McGuire Woods, LLP and Fulcher Hagler, LLP in obtaining a defense verdict for their client, CSX Transportation, Inc. in the Court of Common Pleas in Hampton County, South Carolina.  Hampton County is a notorious Plaintiff-friendly venue which previously had been designated by ATRA as one of the nation's "judicial hellholes".  The case involved a young girl who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2004 accident involving the car in which she was riding as a passenger and a CSX locomotive.  The accident occurred at a passive railroad crossing in Yemassee, South Carolina, in Hampton County, thus making venue proper there.  The attorney for the Plaintiff was John E. Parker, a renowned Plaintiff's attorney in South Carolina whose home office is located in Hampton County and who is known for winning large punitive damages verdicts in that county.  The Plaintiff's theory of the case was that limited sight distance at the crossing made it unreasonably dangerous and that the railroad had not provided adequate notice of the train's approach.

The trial lasted three weeks.  The defense team argued that the driver of the vehicle, the injured minor's mother, made an unsafe decision in pulling out in front of a plainly visible train.  Despite testimony from numerous experts retained by the Plaintiff on both liability and damages, CSXT presented its case in one day and decided not to present any experts.   After approximately 4 hours of deliberation, the jury returned a defense verdict.  Post-trial motions have been filed and argued by the Plaintiff, and the parties are currently awaiting a ruling.