Ard Ex Rel. Estate of Ard v. Metro-North Railroad
District Court, D. Connecticut · 2007-06-05 · cited 4×
This case involved a widow suing Metro-North Railroad under the Federal Employers' Liability Act for the wrongful death of her husband, a conductor, who was killed in a 2004 switching accident at the Stamford train yard. A jury found the railroad 75 percent negligent for failing to enforce rules, inadequate supervision, and improper train movement, while attributing 25 percent fault to the deceased for not riding in the lead cab and turning his back to the train; it awarded over $4 million in damages, later reduced for contributory negligence. The railroad moved for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial, challenging the verdict on liability, apportionment, and damages. The court granted the motion in part by setting aside the award for loss of care to the children due to lack of evidentiary support but denied it as to the negligence findings and fault allocation, and it denied the new trial motion entirely, holding that the jury's other conclusions were supported by the evidence and not against its weight.
