The settlement was field last week in Chatham County State Court in Savannah, the Los Angeles Times reports. Terms were not disclosed.
Camera assistant Sarah Jones, 27, was struck and killed by a train in February 2014 while a film crew trespassed to film a scene for the movie “Midnight Rider” on active railroad tracks. In July 2017, a Georgia jury found the railroad partially responsible for Jones’ death because other trains passing through the area had not informed CSX dispatchers of the film crew’s presence. [See “CSX ordered to pay $3.9 million to family of film worker killed in 2014,” Trains News Wire, July 29, 2017.] The jury awarded a total of $11.2 million, and CSX was held to be liable for 35 percent of the damages.
CSX disputed its responsibility and appealed the verdict, leading to negotiations that resulted in the settlement, the Times reports.
Eight other crew members were injured. The film’s director, Randall Miller, eventually served a jail term after pleading guilty to charges including involuntary manslaughter. The film was never completed.
I wouldn’t have given the family a dime.
Mister McFarlane:
Sorry, no can comment.
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
Yup, that big bad ass train just couldn’t wait to run over somebody….Pathetic, to say the least…just like morons who run crossing gates and then get struck…that train was just waiting for something to happen….again…Pathetic!
I can relate to Mr. Foster’s comment that the likelihood of being selected to serve on a jury in a personal injury case is inversely related to educational level. A number of years ago, I was part of a potential juror pool for a medical malpractice case, and I was one of the first to be let go. I have to admit I don’t know the specific reason, but I suspect a major factor was that I’m a professor of astronomy and physics, and therefore might actually be able to understand and consider the scientific evidence presented, and not just be swayed by emotion in favor of either plaintiff or defendant.
That said, I think it is a travesty that individuals or organizations can be held legally and financially responsible for the irresponsible actions of others. My impression is that was not the case once upon a time.
Apparently nobody noticed the part of the article where it said other CSX trains that passed the area BEFORE the one that hit the members of the film crew did not notify dispatching of said trespassers…that does make them partially liable when you bring it up under a civil case, and plenty of business and people have been held liable for others actions in criminal cases as well, even when it’s a clear case of trespass or negligence on the injured party…it’s been that way for decades and decades, just look at history. Do you concur Ms. Harding in your non-professional opinion?
The trial of the 2 high school students that Rodger mentioned was held in Philly which is one of the worse venues in the USA for any defendant in a civil case in either county or Federal court which is why the award was so extreme. [I was involved on various occasions in both county and Federal courts in Philly while working for my employer.] The defendants are always portrayed as “The Man” to a jury that is normally heavily, sometimes entirely, minority. In my experiences the less the education level of the juror the more likely they were to get picked. As is common throughout the US, the plaintiff always tries to get as many women as they can on these personal injury juries since they are widely perceived to be more sympathetic, especially when younger people are the injured. The 2 boys in question were not minority but that didn’t help the defendants (Amtrak & NS). The problem is magnified since any defendant never has enough juror challenges to have much chance with the jury pool that is usually available.
If I remember correctly, one of the high school students fully recovered and went into the army so he only got something like $600,000. The other recovered but claimed he had lost the use of 90% of one arm (I believe Amtrak presented evidence that 90% loss was inflated but it didn’t do them any good) and he got all the rest. The jury actually awarded that individual a lot more than $23 Million but since it was a Federal Case it was significantly reduced because of the US Supreme Court decision disallowing excess awards. NS got stuck with about a third of it simply because it was their boxcar the 2 boys climbed up on. I don’t believe the 2 ever actually touched the catenary–just got too close to it and were knocked off the top of the boxcar.
The verdict was appealed by Amtrak and NS and I never did hear the results of the appeal.
I wonder If CSX has or will go after the production company itself? A common tactic in personal injury cases is to go after the party with the deepest pockets in a jury case, and let the corporations battle over the finer points of law.
They should have counter sued. Railroads need to grow a pair. When these Darwin Award candidates learn they will pay just maybe they will stay off the railroad.
ANNA – The decision of a company to settle so as to get out from under the cost or the risk of continuing is this: destruction of the rule of law and the handing over authority to our corrupt courts.
If people – corporations are “people” in this context, don’t fight back, our nation is finished.
The comments below do not constitute legal advice and are not applicable to any situation.
The decision by a corporate entity to settle a lawsuit is in many cases nothing more than a business decision, and it is regarded simply as part of the cost of doing business. Regardless of the merits of the case in question it is often viewed as cheaper to simply pay the cost of the defence rather than to litigate.
What I think of this practice I shall keep to myself.
Given what I do for a living I cannot comment on any particular case and I will not comment on the case discussed in this article.
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
Two students climbed atop a boxcar in Lancaster, PA in 2002 and were badly burned when they contacted the catenary. A jury awarded them 24 Million dollars from AMTRAK and Norfolk Southern. A strong emotional appeal seems to override a jury’s common sense.
I work for a western class one that deals with it’s fair share of people getting hit by trains. Why the courts hold the railroads responsible on a scale as one poster said is as CRIMINAL as it gets. If the person is not TRESPASSING then they dont get hit by a train. It’s that simple and the railroads need to grow a pair and quit settling with these ppl for their stupidity. 15 years out there and the stuff I’ve seen is just unbelievable.
War protestor Brian Willson – I remember the name because it’s similar to the rock singer, lost two legs when hit by a train when sitting on an SP spur to an arms depot during the Viet Nam War. The railroad sued him, as it should have. Don’t know how it turned out, but somehow I doubt the railroad won.
The above comments of mine are related to the legal trespass issue and are not meant to either oppose or to endorse Mr. Willson’s political opinions.
Is this another case of the railroad settling because they felt it was cheaper than paying the lawyers to pursue it in court
Amen Mr. Landey.
Yet another example of America’s courts being the worst criminals we have.