Late Friday a Cook County, Illinois jury returned a 2.5 million dollar verdict against AMTRAK for not maintaining a safe work environment in an engine at Chicago's Union Station. A 59 year old engineer's back injury required two operations and a claimed inability to return to work. AMTRAK argued that the engineer had planned to retire within 8 months of the accident, which was disputed by the engineer, and showed excerpts from 5 years of secret surveillance videos of the plaintiff to the jury claiming the engineer was exaggerating, faking, and/or hiding the unrelated real cause for his second back surgery and on-going problems.
AMTRAK'S ultimate offer of $400,000 just as the trial was starting was multiplied over six times by the jury after Marvin A. Brustin and Milo W. Lundblad presented the case at trial.
