Mar. 19—MONTEVIDEO
— A Chippewa County jury found that the driver of a semitractor pulling a water trailer and an engineer on a Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotive were equally negligent in an accident, while the railroad company was negligent to a lesser extent.
The jury issued its verdict on Tuesday in the personal injury civil lawsuit brought by William Schmitz and his spouse, Barbara Schmitz, both of Spicer, against the driver of the truck, John Bristle, and the BNSF Railway Company. The trial spanned 11 days in Chippewa County District Court in Montevideo.
The jury’s verdict attributed 45 percent of the negligence for the injuries suffered by the train engineer Schmitz to himself, and 45 percent to Bristle. It attributed 10 percent of the negligence to BNSF Railway.
The verdict also included a finding that Schmitz deserved compensation of $40,000 for past earnings; $10,000 for past pain, disability, disfigurement, embarrassment and emotional distress; and $50,000 for past medical supplies, hospitalization and health care services of every kind.
It also awarded compensation to Schmitz of $100,000 for future wage loss and $100,000 for future medical supplies, hospitalization, and health services of every kind.
It awarded no compensation to Barbara Schmitz.
In a ruling filed Friday, District Judge Thomas Van Hon found that the total compensation awarded Schmitz is $300,000. Of that amount, Schmitz is entitled to $30,000 from the BNSF Railway Company and $135,000 from Bristle, reflecting their respective 10 percent and 45 percent portion of the negligence. The ruling is stayed 30 days pending appeal.
The plaintiffs filed the civil lawsuit on Oct. 29, 2018. It alleged that Schmitz suffered a range of injuries in a collision at 11:30 a.m. July 20, 2017, one mile west of Maynard at 50th Avenue Southeast.
Schmitz and the conductor in the locomotive, Steven Sietsema of Montevideo, were transported to Carris Health — Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar for injuries they suffered in the collision, according to information from the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the accident.
Bristle was outside of the truck and was not injured. The truck was southbound and the train eastbound at the time of the collision.
Source: https://news.yahoo.com/jury-finds-truck-driver-train-063200524.html
