BNSF Track Inspector’s $1.7 Million Safety-Retaliation Win OK

BNSF Railway Co. must pay a track inspector $1.7 million for the retaliation a jury found he faced after refusing a supervisor’s request to change his classification of a rail defect so the track could remain in service, the District of Colorado ruled.

The court rejected BNSF’s various reasons for granting the company judgment as a matter of law or a new trial, including a novel argument related to the death of the trial judge.

Judge Wiley Y. Daniel passed away after the trial, but before ruling on various post-trial matters, and the railway said his unavailability to consider first-hand ...