Csx Transportation, Inc. v. Joel Don Miller

Summary

The court affirmed a jury judgment awarding Miller $450,000 on his federal railroad-injury claims. It held that the trial court properly instructed the jury on apportionment and mitigation, correctly refused CSX's proposed special-verdict form, properly allowed Miller to seek post-retirement lost wages, and correctly excluded railroad-retirement taxes from the wage-loss calculation because Miller did not seek lost pension benefits. The court also held that evidence supported submitting Miller's locomotive-seat claim under the federal safety statute to the jury and that the negligence instructions adequately addressed foreseeability. Justice Murdock concurred in the result but disagreed with the majority's analysis of the apportionment instructions and special-verdict form.