Attorneys William Kvas and Richard L. Carlson successfully represented an injured BNSF Carmen in front of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The Appeals Court then reversed a lower court order, thus allowing the injured Carmen to pursue his FELA injury claim against the BNSF Railroad.
Over his objections, a Carmen was required to use a well-worn BNSF truck to travel to a repair job-site. On his way to the job-site he was rear-ended by another driver. The Carmen’s seat reclined on impact and he was “torpedoed” backward, causing his head to break through the back window of the truck.
The BNSF denied any liability arguing that there was no notice or foreseeability of the malfunction. After a review the of the vehicles prior repair records and other facts the Minnesota Court of Appeals disagreed saying; “we hold that a reasonable jury could find that constructive notice existed.”
