Jury Awards Wisconsin Man $1.2 Million

On January 10, 2011, a Milwaukee County District Court Judge denied all Railroad motions to overturn a $1.2 million dollar jury verdict for Bruce Dalka against the Wisconsin Central / Canadian National Railroad (WC/CN). The railroad asked the court to overturn the jury’s decision following a six-day trial in Milwaukee in November.

After five days of evidence, a Milwaukee County jury needed only 45 minutes to conclude that the railroad was 100% negligent in contributing to the cause of Mr. Dalka’s injuries. For years, the railroad had refused to acknowledge or accept responsibility for its careless conduct. Instead, the railroad and its’ lawyers focused attacks on Mr. Dalka, a long time, rock solid employee for the railroad. 

Mr. Dalka was represented by Randy LeNeave of Hunegs, LeNeave & Kvas, P.A.  Mr. Dalka was badly injured while performing switching operations in the Fond du Lac rail yard, when a co-worker’s vehicle with the keys left in it, was stolen out of an unsecured parking lot in front of the yard tower office.  The vehicle was stolen from the parking lot by a drunken trespasser who was stealing stereos from other vehicles when he apparently came upon the unlocked vehicle with the keys left inside it.  He proceeded to drive the car throughout the rail yard recklessly and at high speeds, at one point changing directions and coming directly at Mr. Dalka who was injured diving out of the way, narrowly avoiding being run over by the stolen vehicle.

The railroad attempted to shift blame to Mr. Dalka arguing that he was negligent for being on the ground, radioing the yard tower reporting the intruder and his whereabouts. The railroad too late focused its attention on the criminal trespasser. Then arguing he was solely responsible for the incident and that it was an “unforeseeable” criminal act. The railroad’s arguments were unpersuasive and flatly rejected by the jury presumably because the railroad had a long history of trespassers coming into the yard at Fond du Lac, and other rail facilities throughout WC/CN system for many years, including drunks driving throughout the yard at Fond du Lac, and innumerable other criminal activities.

Notwithstanding the well-known and longstanding problems of trespassers at the WC/CN railroad, and specifically at the Fond du Lac rail yard, the railroad did nothing, apart from posting an occasional “no trespassing” sign, to secure the rail yard from unwanted and dangerous intruders.  The WC/CN did nothing to secure it’s property despite operating a busy rail yard, with thousands of railcars switching in and out of the yard, 24/7 365 days a year, carrying all kinds of cargo and hazardous materials in tanker cars.

Making matters worse, the WC/CN rail yard at Fond du Lac has a public road that crosses through the middle of the yard.  The railroad implemented none of its known means of securing the yard from unwanted vehicle traffic from the yard, including concrete barriers, fencing, security cameras or police patrols, some of the methods commonly used in the railroad industry and by this railroad at other facilities.

The WC/CN Railroad employed only one police officer for the entire state of Wisconsin.  He worked 45-50 hours per week.  The WC/CN rail yard at Fond du Lac has no security a majority of the time.

Presently, the railroad is considering whether to appeal the jury’s verdict and the judge’s order confirming the jury award.  Meanwhile, Mr. Dalka is earning 12% interest on the verdict, which amounts to more than $10,000 a month.