Granfield v. Csx Transp. Inc

• Decision Date: 12 March 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-1302.,09-1302.
• Citation: 597 F.3d 474
• Parties: Robert GRANFIELD, Plaintiff, Appellee, V. CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC., Defendant, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

597 F.3d 474

Robert GRANFIELD, Plaintiff, Appellee, V. CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC., Defendant, Appellant.

No. 09-1302.

United States Court of Appeals,

First Circuit.

Heard Oct. 6, 2009.

Decided March 12, 2010.

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Michael B. Flynn, with whom Carolyn M. Blake, Seth C. Turner, and Flynn &amp Wirkus, P.C., Quincy, MA, were on brief for appellant.

Patrick J. Donoghue, with whom Collins Collins & Donoghue, P.C., was on brief for appellee.

Before LYNCH, Chief Judge TORRUELLA and BOUDIN, Circuit Judges.

TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-appellant CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSXT") is appealing from the district court's denial of its motion for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial after a jury awarded $250,000 to plaintiffappellee Robert Granfield ("Granfield") based on a finding that CSXT violated both the Federal Employer's Liability Act ("FELA"), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., and the Locomotive Inspection Act ("LIA"), 49 U.S.C. § 20701 et seq. Granfield, a locomotive engineer employed by CSXT, claimed he developed lateral epicondylitis, ¹or "tennis elbow, " as a result of having to manipulate defective controls found in the cabin of his locomotive. After a ten-day trial and the district court's denial of several dispositive motions by CSXT, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Granfield.

CSXT appeals from the judgment and claims the district court erred in: (1) not dismissing the case under the FELA statute of limitations; (2) allowing Granfield's medical expert witness to testify on causation; (3) admitting a letter containing irrelevant and prejudicial statements, even though the district court overruled itself and eventually held the letter inadmissible; (4) refusing to order a new trial despite Granfield's counsel's allegedly improper statements at closing argument; and (5)denial of its motions for a new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict based on the cumulative error doctrine. After careful review of each issue in this highly contested case, we find no error by the district court and therefore affirm the jury verdict.

I. Background²

We begin by briefly describing Granfield's work history, the alleged condition of the equipment he was required to operate, and the statutory framework that governs this case.

Granfield was a railroad worker for over thirty years. From 1978 until April 2000 he worked as a locomotive engineer, road foreman, and trainmaster for Consolidated Rail Corporation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. On April 1, 2000, he began working for CSXT as a locomotive engineer, primarily based out of Framingham, Massachusetts. On March 6, 2006, he underwent surgery in his right elbow, and has been unemployed since.³

While employed by CSXT, Granfield was required to operate almost exclusively the GP40 6200 series locomotives. As part of the normal operation of these locomotives, he manipulated an array of controls, among them the alerter buttons, brake levers, reverser, sander, throttle, and whistle. Of concern to us here are the alerter buttons and throttles, which Granfield claims were defective and the cause of his injuries.⁴

The alerter is a device that triggers an audible warning that automatically sounds at various intervals while the locomotive is being operated, in order to prevent an engineer from falling asleep at the controls. This mechanism is reset by simply pressing a button. The throttle is important for locomotive engineers as it helps them adjust the speed of the locomotive. It works by regulating the output horsepower generated by the engine, which in turn influences the train's speed. The throttle is controlled by sliding its handle with no more force than is required to turn a door handle.⁵

Granfield testified that he had experienced problems with the throttles in the GP40 6200 locomotives since beginning to work for CSXT in 2000. Mainly, he complained that the placement of the throttle would not correspond with engine output, and as a result he had to "jiggle" the throttle handle back and forth until the desired speed was achieved.

Granfield also complained that the alerter was sounding too frequently, which caused him to push the alerter button more often than would normally be required. Depending on the model of the locomotive, these buttons were sometimes located in uncomfortable locations in the cabin and sometimes had to be "smacked" in order for them to deactivate the alerter.

It is unclear exactly when Granfield began to experience symptoms in his elbows. At his deposition, he stated that he had experienced pain in his left elbow in April 2003. During the trial, he testified that hebegan feeling pain in his left elbow around February or March 2003. He testified that his arm was aching and sore to the touch. He also testified at trial that his arm felt swollen and his little finger in both hands tingled, resembling a numbing sensation.

On May 28, 2003, due to the pain in his elbow and tingling of his little fingers, Granfield visited Dr. Chakraborty, a cardiologist who had treated him in the past for a heart condition. Granfield complained of pain, stiffness, aching, burning, tightness of the arm, and tingling in his small finger. Dr. Chakraborty examined Granfield's elbow and noticed "some kind of inflammation, " but testified that he did not know what was causing the inflammation. Dr. Chakraborty then referred Granfield to an orthopedic surgeon—Dr. Carl Spector—for further treatment. Dr. Chakraborty testified that he did not remember whether Granfield mentioned that he thought his pain was related to his work at the time.

On July 8, 2003 Granfield paid a visit to Dr. Spector. During this visit, Dr. Spector noted that Granfield reported he had been experiencing symptoms in his left elbow for approximately eight months (i.e., since December 2002, which was inconsistent with Granfield's testimony). Granfield also informed Dr. Spector that his symptoms manifested themselves gradually and progressively worsened. After an examination and long discussion with Granfield, Dr. Spector diagnosed him with lateral epicondylitis in the left elbow.

Dr. Spector determined that Granfield's lateral epicondylitis was being caused by the repetitive back and forth manipulation of what he deemed to be "levers" inside the locomotive cabin. Granfield maintained throughout the trial that it was during this visit that he first became aware of the connection between his work activities and his injury.

After his July 8, 2003 visit, Granfield continued seeing Dr. Spector for followtip treatment. During one of these visits, on January 21, 2005, Dr. Spector diagnosed Granfield with bilateral epicondylitis of the left and right elbows. In his report concerning this visit, Dr. Spector rioted that Granfield should not continue working, and recommended physical therapy. After finishing his physical therapy course, Granfield was reevaluated by Dr. Spector on March 4, 2005, and was found to be in good condition and suffering no pain.

By October 2005, however, Granfield's condition had deteriorated and he was suffering from significant pain rising from his right lateral epicondyle (right elbow). During his October-28, 2005 visit. Dr. Spector noted that Granfield had re-injured himself at work, and diagnosed him with recurrent severe lateral epicondylitis of the right elbow.

On March 6, 200(i, Dr. Spector operated on Granfield's right elbow. Following the operation, Granfield's condition improved, although he still suffered from epicondylitis in his left elbow. In his notes concerning Granfield's visit on November 9, 2006, Dr. Spector mentioned that, Granfield would be unable to continue to work as a locomotive engineer.

On June 19, 2006, Granfield filed a complaint against CSXT in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. In it, he charged that CSXT required him to operate locomotives with malfunctioning equipment, including the alerters and throttles, which caused him to suffer his injuries. Granfield also averred that CSXT's failure to adequately maintain its locomotives was a violation of both FELA, 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., and LI A, 49 U.S.C. § 20701 et seq.

FELA regulates the liability of railroad common carriers who engage in interstate or foreign commerce, for injuries sustained by their employees due to the carrier's negligence. Section 1 of the statute states that these interstate railroad carriers will be liable in damages "to any person suffering injury while he is employed by such carrier in such commerce." 45 U.S.C. § 51. In a FELA liability action by an employee against a railroad carrier, the principle of contributory negligence and diminution of damages applies. 45 U.S.C. § 53. Therefore, if an employee's injuries not only result from the carrier's negligence, but also from his own, the employee's damages "shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to such employee." Id. This principle, however, will not apply if the employee's injury is found to have been contributed to by the carrier's violation of any statute enacted for the safety of its employees. Id..⁶

"Federal decisional law formulating and applying the concept [of negligence] governs" FELA actions. Urie v. Thompson, 337 U.S. 163, 174, 69 S.Ct. 1018, 93 L.Ed. 1282 (1949). Section 6 of FELA creates a three-year statute of limitations for all actions under section 1 of the statute, counted from the day the cause of action accrued. 45 U.S.C. § 56.

Granfield also sued under LIA, formerly known as the Boiler Inspection Act.⁷By its own terms, the LIA does not purport to confer any right of action upon injured employees. Urie, 337 U.S. at 188 69 S.Ct. 1018. Its role, rather, is to supplement the FELA by imposing on inter state railroad carriers an absolute and continuing duty to provide safe equipment. Id. (citing Lilly v. Grand Trunk W.R. Co., 317 U.S. 481, 485, 63 S.Ct. 347, 87 L.Ed. 411 (1943)). The...