$1 Million Dollar Jury Verdict

The plaintiff, a carman’s helper, was carrying seat cushions from an Amtrak passenger coach. As she was carrying the cushions the plaintiff stepped into an open trap door and fell approximately fifteen feet to the floor of the inspection pit, beneath the service track. The plaintiff’s left forearm caught on a metal latch, tearing her arm open from below the elbow to above the wrist. She also sustained a comminuted fracture of her right tibia. The plaintiff missed six months from work with a net wage loss of approximately $12,000. The plaintiff claimed negligence by the defendant for failing to have a system in place for insuring that trap doors were closed and secured at high platform locations. The plaintiff presented witnesses who testified that trap doors were routinely left open in violation of the defendant’s rules.