DENVER — A longtime Union Pacific employee who fell down a steep flight of stairs inside a locomotive was awarded $6 million at a trial in which the man claimed the railroad intentionally destroyed important evidence, the Denver Post reported.
The Denver jury took only two hours to return its verdict on September 19 in the case of Frank Aloi, a 53-year-old freight conductor whose job it was to couple and uncouple train cars and throw track switches.
Aloi claimed he was totally disabled from injuries to his shoulder, neck and lower back sustained during the fall. He also said he suffered a mild traumatic brain injury.
“All I want is my health back,” he said Friday. “The money has not cured me.”
He said he was informed of the verdict by his wife, Deb.
“My wife was crying and saying it was $6 million. And I said, ‘OK, but we have nothing to celebrate.’ I still have a headache and still see the doctor about my knee and neck.”
Lou Jungbauer, Aloi’s attorney, said the award is believed to be the highest ever returned in Colorado under the Federal Employers Liability Act, or FELA.
Will Browne, lawyer for Union Pacific, said the verdict was “at the high end” of such verdicts. Browne said FELA verdicts tend to be high because railroad workers make good wages. Aloi earned about $65,000 a year.
One of the jury instructions, called “spoliation,” specifically alleged that UP intentionally destroyed documents generated during its own investigation of Aloi’s fall on Aug. 27, 1998.
Browne said the company will vigorously appeal the verdict to the Colorado Court of Appeals.
Among the grounds is the fact that Denver District Judge Frank Martinez included the specific instruction.
The instruction specifically told the jury that it could infer that UP’s failure to produce documents meant that the evidence contained in the documents was unfavorable to the company.
Jungbauer said the jury’s verdict told him they were unhappy with how the company treated his client.
“They were disappointed that the railroad not only destroyed the documents but then came in and tried to explain it away,” Jungbauer said. “The second thing that bothered the jury is that Union Pacific would stand up in court and call this guy, who has put in 27 years of good service on the railroad, a fake and attack him in front of his family.”
Jungbauer said the jurors had no doubt that Aloi suffered the injuries.
Browne said the “spoliation” instruction “is a red-hot button” issue.
“The theory is one party willfully destroyed evidence and destroyed evidence for purposes of keeping it out of trial. That is the theory behind that jury instruction. We absolutely deny that, to my dying days,” Browne said.
At issue was a report written about the incident by Carol Townsend, the engineer on Aloi’s train. Also lost was the defective mat that Aloi stumbled over on his way down the steps.
Townsend said she wrote in the report that the mat was a stumbling hazard that put the crew in danger. Townsend said she didn’t see Aloi stumble but “heard a racket” and heard Aloi say “Oh.”
Browne said that federal law only requires railroads to keep those records for 92 days. Browne said the lawsuit was filed in January 1999, at least 120 days after the accident.
Browne said he was surprised how quickly the jury returned the verdict and by the amount.
“The jury was out two hours — $3 million an hour. That’s more than the ballplayers make,” Browne said.