[bill.aam]

IMO this is absolutely absurd!!!!! I'm sure Bill Engvall has a sign for both of these guys...

"Stupid people should have to wear signs that just say, "I'm Stupid."" ...Bill Engvall

PHILADELPHIA - A federal jury awarded $24.2 million to two men who were severely burned by electrical wires when they trespassed onto railroad property and climbed atop a rail car.

Jeffrey Klein and Brett Birdwell, who were 17 at the time of the accident, sued Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Corp. after being burned by a 12,500-volt electrical wire in Lancaster in August 2002. In their lawsuit, they argued that the companies should have placed warning signs alerting people to the wires, which power locomotives.

After an 11-day trial before U.S. District Judge Lawrence Stengel, the jury handed up its verdict in the liability phase Tuesday, finding the companies negligent. The jury issued the damage award Thursday.

Klein, who was burned over 75 percent of his body, was awarded more than $11 million in compensatory damages; Birdwell, who was burned over 18 percent of his body, was awarded more than $588,000. The jury also awarded a total of $12.5 million in punitive damages, $8.75 million against Amtrak and $3.75 million against Norfolk Southern.

Jury awards $24M

[ace_coffee]

this type of thing happens all the time. No sense to it in my opinion. if you are dumb enough to do something in which you get hurt that is outside "being normal" then that's just too bad for you.

That's like fat people suing McDonald's for making them fat - hey, no one is pointing a gun to your head saying eat these fries. And just so I don't get evil posts from overweight people, I happen to be in that category and I don't have any fast food lawsuits pending.

[erick295]

That is so ridiculous. People need to grow up and just deal with the consequences of their actions. It's not like they honestly believe that someone owes them millions of dollars -- they're just abusing the system and raping it for all they can get.

Right now someone's suing McDonald's for some huge amount because they found a rat in their salad... I forgot what the amount was, but it was ridiculous... like they suffered a million dollars worth of agony because they found something gross in their food. It didn't even hurt them -- it was just gross. I ate part of a pizza one time, then discovered it was covered in tiny roaches -- amazingly, I didn't sue anyone. I got over it in about twenty minutes, then I thought it was funny. I mean, come on, sh!t happens. Deal with it and get over it.

Greedy idiots. What's really pathetic is that juries actually reward these people for being that way.

[detoxdsl]

Wow, im from PA and this makes me feel ashamed. There will always be stupid people, doing stupid things, trying to get a free dollar.

[ace_coffee]

this brings up the age old question of why it states to "do not eat the cotton" on every bottle of asprin?

because somewhere, someone did eat the cotton!

[linskyjack]

I would like to know more about this case and the composition of the jury. By the way, that amount will probably not stand.

[WarC]

The father of the family who is suing McDonalds is the Dallas Cowboys receiver coach, Todd Haley, the guy who coaches T.O.

I'll see ya guys later, I'm going to go climb atop an Amtrak train. It seems to be more "conducive" to my financial wellbeing than holding down a job.

[loserOlimbs]

Hmmm, lets see here, they trespass (Railroads are private property) they climb on top of a train, they grab an electric wire, and they make millions of dollars!

I'd say they should invest the money, but anyone that dumb wouldn't be able to invest it wisely!

[Littlefield]

Originally Posted by linskyjack

I would like to know more about this case and the composition of the jury. By the way, that amount will probably not stand.

Yep, they will appeal the hell out of it!

[linskyjack]

No---they wont appeal at all. The judge has power in these cases. Ask Mulder.

[Littlefield]

They will first move before the Distict Judge for a new trial or reduce the amount If they fail in this .then they will appeal to the Circuit Court.Ask Mulder that.

[iltos]

did they pass a posted NO TRESPASSING sign on the way in?...seems they'd have had to, for insurance purposes

nuts is what this is

[Mulderator]

Originally Posted by linskyjack

I would like to know more about this case and the composition of the jury.

I can tell you it had to be primarily liberals on the jury--conservatives would never have ruled that way.

[Mulderator]

Originally Posted by Littlefield

They will first move before the Distict Judge for a new trial or reduce the amount If they fail in this .then they will appeal to the Circuit Court.Ask Mulder that.

They will do everything--ask for a new trial, ask or the verdict to be reduced, appeal to both the trial judge and the court of appeal--every means available (I don't know what procedural rights are available in PA other the right to appeal--they probably have the right to request a new trial and a reduction in the verdict from the trial judge) when the verdicts are that big because the cost becomes insigificant.

Oh wait--its a federal case--so yes they have the right to ask for a new trial and a reduction in the verdict from the trial judge--they may or may not get that depending on the damages, but large verdicts are often reduced.

[iltos]

Originally Posted by Mulder

They will do everything--ask for a new trial, ask or the verdict to be reduced, appeal to both the trial judge and the court of appeal--every means available (I don't know what procedural rights are available in PA other the right to appeal--they probably have the right to request a new trial and a reduction in the verdict from the trial judge) when the verdicts are that big because the cost becomes insigificant.

i'm certain you disagree with the award, mulder, but....from a legal point of view, would a jury have to find some sort of criminal negligence on the part of the railroad company for an award of that size?

or more generally, what kind of fault could place a company in such jeopardy on its own property?