LA jury awards $58M to train yard worker who fractured foot in fall

A Los Angeles jury awarded more than $58 million to a Palmdale train yard worker who suffered a microfracture in his foot in a fall.

Pablo Scipione, who was working as an independent contractor for Altech Services, was injured when he slipped and fell on top of a train while performing electrical repairs at rail car manufacturer Kinkisharyo’s Palmdale yard, a news release from Scipione’s attorneys said. The injury occurred in 2016 and required surgery.

Scipione returned to work the following day and worked full time for nearly 18 months. He visited a foot doctor and was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome after his surgery, which eventually forced him to stop working, the release said. 

“Kinkisharyo tried everything possible to downplay the severity of our client’s injuries,” said Parris Law Firm partner Alexander R. Wheeler in the release.

The lawsuit accused Japan-based Kinkisharyo of requiring a highly demanding pace of work. Scipione’s injury occurred after his supervisor called him in at 2 a.m. and said the repairs had to be finished by 5 a.m., lawyers said. He slipped after taking only a few steps.

“An injury this severe was bound to happen,” said Parris Law Firm partner Khail A. Parris in the release. “Employees frequently complained to supervisors that the station was poorly lit, and yet nothing was done to ensure a safe working environment.”

Throughout litigation, Scipione made multiple offers to settle, but Kinkisharyo rejected them all, including a $3 million settlement Scipione pitched in March 2022, according to his attorneys. Kinkisharyo will owe at least $20 million in prejudgment interest on top of the judgment amount. 

Attorneys for Kinkisharyo didn’t immediately respond to a FreightWaves inquiry on Thursday, but the company said Scipione’s case should have been handled through workers’ compensation, according to Scipione’s lawyers.

Compensatory damages in the judgment were about $54.2 million, and punitive damages were $4.2 million, his attorneys said.

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