Background
The allegations were many and strong: Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BSNF) failed to protect its workers from deafening job noise for decades. And then duped thousands of them into settling hearing loss claims for unfairly low amounts. After plaintiffs' lawyers filed the lawsuit in Minnesota, media across the country took notice, writing incendiary stories based on the allegations.
Transportation Team Involvement
Our client BSNF had equally strong and legitimate factual and legal responses to the allegations. Together with the railroad in-house counsel, the Freeborn Transportation Team reviewed the situation in depth, as well as the individual claims of each of the plaintiffs.
Results
Following a multi-week trial in this multi-district employment class action, the jury reached a verdict in favor of BNSF. In re Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. Employee Settlement Agreements Litigation, 162 F. Supp. 2d 699 (Jud. Pan. Multi. Lit. 2001).
