Large economic damage award in burn case

Jury Awards $24.2 Million to Boys Injured on Amtrak Tracks

A Philadelphia federal jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania yesterday awarded total damages of $24.2 million against Amtrak and Norfolk Southern for electrical burn injuries suffered on August 10, 2002 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by two 17-year-old boys, Jeffrey Klein and Brett Birdwell.

The evidence showed that the boys saw the train parked behind the store, that one of the cars had ladders on each corner and a catwalk around the top, and that the boys decided to climb up and see what the view was of the city. Unknown to the boys was the presence of a fully energized, 12,000 volt catenary electrical wire just six feet above the boxcars.

The jury awarded Klein $1.6 million for future lost earning capacity; $9 million for pain and suffering, scarring, humiliation, and loss of life’s pleasures; past and future medical expense and punitive damages against Amtrak and Norfolk Southern.

The plaintiff's attorney are: Jospeh Roda and Dianne Nast at http://www.rodanast.com/