DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday sent an injured railroad worker’s lawsuit back to district court, giving BNSF Railway Co. a chance to reduce a million dollar verdict a jury awarded.
The court said the railroad should have been allowed to present evidence at trial about when railroad workers typically retire.
John Giza began working for the railroad in Creston after graduating from high school in 1969. Except for a few years in the U.S. Navy, he worked for the railroad for most of 40 years. He was thrown from a rail car, injuring his knee in 2009 when he was 59.
He sued in Polk County District Court in Des Moines in December 2010, seeking lost earning capacity and damages for pain and suffering. A jury awarded him $1.25 million in June 2012.
Since he had worked for the railroad for more than 30 years, he was eligible to retire at 60 on full pension. He testified, however, that he had planned to work until age 66. He sought to recover lost wages for seven years of work remaining which experts estimated to be $755,000.
At the trial a railroad expert provided the court a report that indicated more than 62 percent of railroad workers with 30 or more years of service retire at age 60. He pointed out that railroad retirement benefits are largely exempt from federal taxes and therefore it was unlikely Giza would have worked past 60 if he had not been injured.
Giza’s attorneys argued that such information should not be given to jurors and Judge Mary Pat Gunderson agreed.
The railroad’s attorneys appealed.
The Iowa Supreme Court justices concluded that the railroad is left defenseless when workers claim they would retire at a specific age that correlates to when most workers would retire with full Social Security benefits. Giza, like others who retire under the Railroad Retirement system, does not participate in Social Security and his retirement date is not tied to the system most jurors would assume it is. Railroad workers with at least 30 years of service may retire as early as age 60 with no penalty. Social Security benefits are generally available beginning at age 62 but retirees take a reduced benefit unless they wait to retire between age 65 and 67, depending on the retiree’s year of birth.
“Most jurors participate in the Social Security system, where full benefits come later in life than age 60, and in the absence of other evidence would likely assume that Giza’s assertion he planned to retire at age 66 was entirely typical and unexceptional- even though it isn’t,” the court wrote.
“We doubt the jury will be improperly influenced by learning of the typical retirement age, when details concerning the pension are not disclosed,” the court said. “On the other hand, keeping this information from jurors could create a false impression while leaving no practical way for the railroad to challenge a plaintiff’s claimed anticipated retirement date.”
The case was sent back to Polk County court where a new jury will consider only the damage amount.
“We are glad that a jury will be allowed to hear all of the relevant evidence in this matter, and we appreciate the attention and care paid to this issue by the Iowa Supreme Court,” a spokesman for BNSF said in an email statement.
Attorneys for Giza did not immediately respond to a message.
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