Trial Magazine

Andreas Bakopoulos, a 37-year-old diesel mechanic for Union Pacific Railroad, was repairing a leaking fuel pre-heater on a locomotive. As he was using a pipe wrench to loosen flare nuts on the equipment, he slipped on a patch of diesel fuel and fell. He visited the company nurse, reporting groin pain and nausea. A surgeon later diagnosed Bakopoulos with a large inguinal hernia.

Bakopoulos also allegedly suffered a herniated disk at L4-5 with radiculopathy. He underwent surgery to repair the hernia. When physical therapy and epidural injections failed to alleviate his lower back pain, he required a fusion at L4-5. He later underwent implantation of a spinal stimulator. He returned to work after six months, but injuries from an automobile crash forced him to leave work a second time.

Bakopoulos sued Union Pacific under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, alleging that the railroad failed to provide a safe place to work. The plaintiff alleged that a diesel fuel spill was a “stop the line” event that required the railroad to temporarily halt work and follow an action plan to clean the spill. The plaintiff claimed that he advised his supervisors about the spill, but they failed to halt the work and have the spill cleaned, in violation of the railroad’s safety rules.

Suit also alleged that the railroad failed to have a functioning water supply available to clean the spill. Finally, the plaintiff alleged that the railroad failed to provide him with the proper equipment for the job. The plaintiff’s expert testified that a pipe wrench was not an appropriate tool for loosening flare nuts.

The plaintiff did not pursue claims for medical expenses or lost earnings.

Union Pacific argued that a pipe wrench was the correct tool for the job and that the plaintiff had been trained on how to use it. The defense also argued that the plaintiff was negligent in overexerting himself, failing to properly brace himself, and failing to use available fuel-spill pads to absorb the spill.

Finally, the defense argued that the automobile collision, not the workplace incident, had caused the plaintiff’s disk injury. The defense presented evidence that the herniation did not appear on the plaintiff’s post-incident imaging but only on imaging after the automobile crash.

The jury allocated fault at 60.5 percent to the railroad and 39.5 percent to the plaintiff. It then awarded $9 million in noneconomic damages for pain and suffering and loss of a normal life. The award was reduced for fault to approximately $5.45 million.

Citation: Bakopoulos v. Union Pac. R.R., No. 2013-L-002997 (Ill. Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty. Feb. 9, 2017).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Christopher M. Norem, Amanda M. Martin, and Matthew J. Coleman, all of Chicago.

Plaintiff experts: Lance Watt, mechanical engineering, Lancaster, Pa.; and Avi Bernstein, orthopedic surgery, Park Ridge, Ill.

Defense experts: William Jacobs, railroad operations, Maumelle, Ark.; Michael Racenstein, radiology, Elk Grove Village, Ill.; and Jeffrey Meisles, orthopedic surgery, Melrose Park, Ill.