Kossman v. NE IL Regional Commuter RR

Decision Date02 May 2000
Docket NumberNo. 99-2255,99-2255
Parties(7th Cir. 2001) BRIAN A. KOSSMAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. NORTHEAST ILLINOIS REGIONAL COMMUTER RAILROAD CORPORATION, doing business as Metra/Metropolitan Rail, Defendant-Appellant
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 96 C 8045--Arlander Keys, Magistrate Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Before POSNER, Chief Judge, COFFEY and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

COFFEY, Circuit Judge.

Brian Kossman brought this action against his employer, Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad d/b/a Metra (Metra), pursuant to the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. sec. 51 et seq. (FELA), claiming that he suffered a shoulder injury in the course of his employment while unloading supplies from a delivery truck. After trial, the jury returned a verdict for Kossman in the amount of $304,000,1 Metra moved for judgment as a matter of law or, in the alternative, for a new trial. The court2 denied the motions and Metra appeals.

We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are quite simple. Kossman, employed as an "extra clerk"3 for Metra, was directed, on September 9, 1994, to assist in the unloading of a truck which had come in with 55-gallon barrels of cleaning supplies on pallets; a task he had done approximately fifty times in the past. According to Kossman, this load was unusual in that, instead of each pallet containing a single 55-gallon barrel, some of the pallets in this shipment contained as many as three 55-gallon barrels.

The employees were assisted in removing and transporting the pallets from the bed of the delivery truck to the warehouse by a pallet jack. A pallet jack is a four-wheeled, hydraulic lift device designed for lifting and moving heavy loads from one location to another. To move a pallet, the forks of the jack are placed under the top deck of the loaded pallet, and the hydraulic lift, when activated, raises the pallet off the floor. The jack (now with the loaded pallet) is then normally rolled off the bed of the truck and onto the loading dock.

While Kossman was in the process of unloading the cleaning supplies, the forks of the jack became locked, in an unmovable position, under a pallet loaded with three 55-gallon barrels. As Kossman attempted to free the jack, he "kind of heard a little pop or crack [in his shoulder], but [he] didn't really think anything of it at the time because it [sic] wasn't immediate pain." After he unsuccessfully attempted to free the jack, Kossman asked one of his co-workers for assistance, and the two men eventually freed the jack, but Kossman still faced other obstacles; a 3-6 inch vertical space existed between the truck's unloading gate and the dock.4

In order to unload the pallets, as Kossman was required to do that day, employees are forced to make a running jump with the loaded pallet jack, leaping from the truck bed to the dock below. Because of the configuration of the dock, the employees are then forced to make an immediate and sharp turn to avoid crashing into, or flying over, a railing on the other side of the loading dock. As Kossman attempted to perform this maneuver with the jack holding the three 55- gallon barrels, he "just felt a strain, like I had pulled a muscle or something."

Immediately after the incident Kossman only felt like he had a muscle strain, but the next day his arm "was totally immobilized" and he "couldn't move it at all" because of the pain and discomfort. Kossman visited the company doctor and was immediately "taken out of service." Because Kossman's pain continued, he went to an orthopedic surgeon and was directed to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder; a procedure he had twice, once in 1995 and again in 1998. Despite these surgeries and physical therapy, and although he has now regained some of the lost range of motion in his shoulder, Kossman "is never comfortable" and is still unable to return to work and perform his usual duties, and has yet to return to any form of employment.5

Based on the injury suffered while unloading the barrels of cleaning supplies, Kossman filed this action against Metra alleging that Metra failed to provide him with a safe place to work by: 1) failing to adopt and implement a safe method and procedure for unloading supplies; 2) failing to provide adequate equipment; 3) assigning him work that was beyond his known physical ability; 4) failing to provide sufficient personnel to unload the supplies; 5) improperly training him to use unsafe methods; 6) improperly supervising him; 7) failing to properly secure the loading pallet; and 8) failing to exercise ordinary care to provide him with a safe place to work. The complaint alleged that one or more of the foregoing negligent acts or omissions caused, in whole or in part, Kossman's shoulder injury.

Because neither party requested a special verdict, the trial judge allowed the jury to return a general verdict for Kossman (without answering any interrogatories). After the jury awarded Kossman $304,000, Metra moved for judgment as a matter of law or, in the alternative, for a new trial.

With respect to Kossman's claim that Metra failed to adopt and implement a safe method and procedure for unloading the pallets from the truck, the trial judge concluded that Kossman did provide sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. The court reasoned that the jury, viewing Plaintiff's [evidence] and using its own common sense, could have concluded that pushing and pulling a five-foot-long pallet jack loaded with from 1200 to 1500 pounds of cargo at a speed that would allow the jack to jump a three- to six-inch gap and require the jack operator to quickly turn the handle, upon landing, to avoid being thrown into or over the railing, which was located about five feet from where the pallet landed, was unreasonably unsafe. Based on the evidence presented in the case, this is the only theory on which the jury could have supported its decision, and it is not an unreasonable one. The magistrate judge then denied Metra's motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial. Metra appeals.

II. ISSUES

On appeal Metra argues that the district court erred in: 1) denying its motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial; and 2) informing the jury that Kossman was ineligible for worker's compensation benefits.

III. ANALYSIS
A. The FELA

FELA, enacted in 1908, provides a federal tort remedy for railroad employees, such as Kossman, injured on the job. See Williams v. National Railroad Passenger Corp., 161 F.3d 1059, 1061 (7th Cir. 1998). Unlike worker's compensation statutes, FELA requires Kossman to prove negligence on the part of Metra. See id. However, the Supreme Court has held that the negligence standard is relaxed in FELA cases and a plaintiff, in order to get his case to the jury, need only produce evidence which demonstrates that the "'employer['s] negligence played any part, even the slightest, in producing the injury.'" Consolidated Rail Corp. v. Gottshall, 512 U.S. 532, 543 (1994) (quoting Rogers v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., 352 U.S. 500, 506 (1957)). A plaintiff, therefore, carries a lighter burden in a FELA action than in an ordinary negligence case. See Harbin v. Burlington Northern Ry. Co., 921 F.2d 129, 132 (7th Cir. 1990) (noting examples of FELA actions submitted to jury based only upon "evidence scarcely more substantial than pigeon bone broth"). Furthermore, courts "have interpreted [FELA] liberally in light of its humanitarian purposes." Williams, 161 F.3d at 1061 (citing Metro-North Commuter R. Co. v. Buckley, 521 U.S. 424, 429 (1997)).

All this being true, FELA "is not an insurance statute." Gottshall, 512 U.S. at 554. A plaintiff bringing an action under FELA "who fails to produce even the slightest evidence of negligence" should not be permitted to go to trial. Williams, 161 F.3d 1061-62. In other words, a plaintiff who brings a successful claim under FELA must establish that the defendant breached its duty by demonstrating that "a reasonable person would foresee [the alleged circumstances] as creating a potential for harm." McGinn v. Burlington Northern R.R. Co., 102 F.3d 295, 300 (7th Cir. 1996). Given the plaintiff friendly nature of FELA, it is easy to understand why the trial judge did not commit error when denying Metra's motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial.

B. Motions for Judgment as a Matter of Law and for a New Trial

As stated previously, Metra challenges the district court's denial of its post-trial motions for judgment as a matter of law or, alternatively, for a new trial. We review the denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law de novo. See Tincher v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 118 F.3d 1125, 1129 (7th Cir. 1997). Judgment as a matter of law may be entered where "there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for [a] party on [an] issue." Fed. R. Civ. P. 50. Furthermore, this Court must, after reviewing the record and drawing all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to Kossman, determine whether the verdict is supported by sufficient evidence. See Tincher, 118 F.3d at 1129. Although we review the denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law de novo, our review of the denial of Metra's motion for a new trial is under the abuse of discretion standard. See Robinson v. Burlington Northern R.R., 131 F.3d 648, 656 (7th Cir. 1997). Additionally, we will not overturn a jury's verdict "[a]s long as there is a reasonable basis in the record to support it." Id.

In the present case, Kossman was directed to unload cleaning supplies from a truck parked at the loading dock, and consistent with Metra's policy, Kossman was required to push and pull a five-foot-long pallet jack loaded with three 55- gallon drums that...

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