(The Associated Press circulated the following article on January 29.)
MINOT, N.D. — The first week of testimony has wrapped up in lawsuits over a deadly 2002 derailment west of here.
The jury trial is under way in Minneapolis, which is the U.S. headquarters of Canadian Pacific Railway.
The railroad, based in Calgary, Alberta, has admitted liability in the case. The jury of nine men and three women is to decide damages in three cases involving plaintiffs Richard and Melissa Allende, Jeanette Klier and Martha Schulz.
Ward County Sheriff Vern Erck and Minot Police Sgt. Dave Goodman were among the first to testify about their actions after the derailment sent a thick cloud of anhydrous ammonia over the Mouse River Valley early on the morning of Jan. 18, 2002.
Thirty-one of 112 rail cars went off the tracks on the west edge of Minot, and five tank cars carrying anhydrous ammonia ruptured.
“It was good to be able to help tell the derailment story to the jury from a neutral perspective,” Erck said. “I testified about Deputy Scott Erb, who was on patrol that night and got stuck in the cloud of ammonia in a ditch not far from the derailment scene. I also told about the atmospheric conditions following the derailment and the tasks we (the sheriff’s department) and other emergency responders tended to that night.”
Goodman testified that he tried three times to go into the anhydrous cloud before he was able to get his family to safety and said he felt guilty that he was unable to get through the cloud again to rescue others. He said he had to park his car and seek refuge in a convenience store, where he helped others cover their faces with wet rags and towels.
Canadian Pacific attorney Tim Thornton asked only two questions of Goodman – whether the air at the Minot Mini-Mart seemed better than outside and whether it helped Goodman to breathe into a damp cloth. The officer answered yes to both.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs called doctors to testify about asthma and other health problems as a result of exposure to anhydrous ammonia.
Dr. Neal Sher said he examined people with eye injuries after the derailment and found significant damage. Under cross examination, the doctor acknowledged the patients were selected by the plaintiff’s lawyers.
Thornton said medical records did not mention major eye problems for Richard Allende until he was examined for litigation, and he asked Sher whether he had all Melissa Allende’s records. Sher said he based his findings mostly on symptoms she reported, but he said even the railroad’s doctor acknowledged that anhydrous ammonia exposure hurt patients.
The three cases being heard are the first stemming from the derailment to actually go to trial. An earlier wave of cases was settled out of court, including a wrongful death lawsuit. More than 100 cases are still pending, as well as a class action lawsuit against the railroad.
Fargo attorney Mike Miller, representing some of the plaintiffs, said the testimony could wrap up this week.
“I just wish we wouldn’t have had to wait this long to get to trial, ” Miller said.