Railroad workers awarded 1.8 million
By Glenn Evans
Palestine Herald-Press Staff WriterThe Palestine division of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad Tuesday awarded $1.8 million to two workers who were knocked out of work by back injuries.
Guy. L. Hopper and Darrell V. Hastings, both of San Antonio, suffered job-ending back injuries within the last two years, local attorney Charles Nichols said Saturday.
After a jury in Judge Melvin Whitaker’s 349th District Court awarded Hopper $905,000, July 28, Hopper and Hastings’ attorneys accepted an out-of-court settlement of $900,000 for Hastings, Nichols said.
The two men were represented by Nichols along with Houston lawyers, Donald Bowen and David Miller.
The carrier rarely allows men to work after a back injury, Nichols said, hence the two were forced to seek such large amounts.
Railroad workers are covered under the Federal Employees Liability Act and so are not eligible for either social security or workers’ compensation coverages.
Nichols said the jury took only a day to award Hopper his near million, after it heard Hopper had been injured working a switch on which he had previously filed a safety complaint.
"The railroad, by statute, is obligated to provide all its workers with a safe place to work," the attorney said.
As part of the out-of-court settlement with Hastings, the carrier agreed not to appeal the Hopper decision, he said.
Mopac also agreed to repay Hastings’ withdrawals from his retirement fund to pay for surgeries.
Both injuries occurred in the San Antonio yards, Nichols said. The Palestine division of Mopac is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company.