bchulett
NAXJA Member #999
- Location
- Southern California
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Conductor wins settlement
Ticket-taker is paid $8.5 million after contending that the 2002 Placentia train wreck worsened his alcoholism.
By GWENDOLYN DRISCOLL
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A train conductor who sustained minor injuries in April 2002 when his Metrolink train collided with a freight train in Placentia was awarded $8.5 million Tuesday after insisting that the crash exacerbated a pre-existing drinking problem.
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway confirmed that the case was settled out of court.
The lawyer for Patrick Phillips, 52, of Riverside said a mild concussion suffered during the crash triggered a desire for alcohol that transformed Phillips from a "controlled" alcoholic into a man who drank himself into malnutrition, dehydration, and eventual dementia.
The case was particularly unusual, said Phillips' lawyer, Jerome L. Ringler, because Phillips was subjected to a series of medical tests immediately after the crash, including a CT scan that found no injury.
"We were able to prove that what had occurred was a change in his behavior due to a microscopic injury to the brain which you don't necessarily see on scans," Ringler said. "In a normal person it would be inconsequential, but because he was not normal ... it caused that problem to emerge in an unabated way."
Although lawsuits for injuries that exacerbate pre-existing conditions - the so-called "eggshell-skull" rule - are not unusual, the lack of immediate physical evidence of any injury in the Phillips case was, Ringler said.
"It was a very difficult case to understand and to prove," he said.
The case pitted teams of medical experts, including neuropsychiatrists, psychologists and radiologists, against each other in an effort to explain the behavior that led Phillips to drink heavily in the months after the crash, against the advice of doctors and despite being checked into the hospital for dehydration and malnutrition in August 2002.
Ringler said that before the crash Phillips, a ticket-taker on the train, was an acknowledged alcoholic who had spent time in a Pasadena rehabilitation center.
Phillips lives in retirement at the house of his sister Nancy in Riverside. The $8.5 million annuity will be paid out in installments over 20 years to provide for his long-term care, Ringler said.
Conductor wins settlement
Ticket-taker is paid $8.5 million after contending that the 2002 Placentia train wreck worsened his alcoholism.
By GWENDOLYN DRISCOLL
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A train conductor who sustained minor injuries in April 2002 when his Metrolink train collided with a freight train in Placentia was awarded $8.5 million Tuesday after insisting that the crash exacerbated a pre-existing drinking problem.
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway confirmed that the case was settled out of court.
The lawyer for Patrick Phillips, 52, of Riverside said a mild concussion suffered during the crash triggered a desire for alcohol that transformed Phillips from a "controlled" alcoholic into a man who drank himself into malnutrition, dehydration, and eventual dementia.
The case was particularly unusual, said Phillips' lawyer, Jerome L. Ringler, because Phillips was subjected to a series of medical tests immediately after the crash, including a CT scan that found no injury.
"We were able to prove that what had occurred was a change in his behavior due to a microscopic injury to the brain which you don't necessarily see on scans," Ringler said. "In a normal person it would be inconsequential, but because he was not normal ... it caused that problem to emerge in an unabated way."
Although lawsuits for injuries that exacerbate pre-existing conditions - the so-called "eggshell-skull" rule - are not unusual, the lack of immediate physical evidence of any injury in the Phillips case was, Ringler said.
"It was a very difficult case to understand and to prove," he said.
The case pitted teams of medical experts, including neuropsychiatrists, psychologists and radiologists, against each other in an effort to explain the behavior that led Phillips to drink heavily in the months after the crash, against the advice of doctors and despite being checked into the hospital for dehydration and malnutrition in August 2002.
Ringler said that before the crash Phillips, a ticket-taker on the train, was an acknowledged alcoholic who had spent time in a Pasadena rehabilitation center.
Phillips lives in retirement at the house of his sister Nancy in Riverside. The $8.5 million annuity will be paid out in installments over 20 years to provide for his long-term care, Ringler said.
