Railroads

With more than 100 years of combined experience working on matters for Class I and Short Line railroads, Nelson Mullins lawyers have handled numerous types of matters. We defend all types of litigation, including single-plaintiff FELA matters involving traumatic injury, cumulative trauma, or toxic tort exposures. Our team handles litigation and internal investigations of employees alleging workplace harassment or discrimination. We have been at the forefront of litigation of crossing accidents, derailments and trespasser cases, including the issues of preemption, expert witness investigations and testimony, and mass and single plaintiff incidents. Our lawyers have worked with experts across the spectrum of all railroad operations involving medical claims, car and engine inspections, accident reconstruction, metallurgy, engineering of sight and stop distances, track construction and track maintenance.  

Our lawyers have deep knowledge and experience with railroad operations, including transportation, engineering, mechanical, and signal departments. We know how railroads work, the regulatory schemes you are facing, and how to deal with them. There is no substitute for understanding the nuances of railroad operations.

We have litigated RICO matters, defamation, and tortious interference involving business claims with outside entities as both plaintiffs and defendants. We handle property disputes, tax claims, and business litigation with customers, suppliers, and other third parties.  
 

Defending Class I and Short Line railroads — ranging from investigations to high-profile, nationally reported incidents — through trial, including allegations of

• Trespasser litigation
• Grade-crossing accidents
• Derailment litigation
• Toxic exposure claims resulting from derailments, accidents, or employee exposure
• Brain injury claims 
• Medical monitoring claims arising from railroad incidents 
• FELA liability claims
• Sidetrack agreement litigation
• RICO and fraud investigations
• Employment litigation, including discrimination and harassment claims
• Vendor-related litigation
• Class actions and mass tort claims arising from railroad incidents and operations
• Collection matters

We have defended Railroads on claims of violating

• Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA)
• Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• ERISA
• Wage Payment and Collection Acts
• Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA)
• Safety Appliance Act (SAA)

Our lawyers are problem solvers focused on your objectives in litigation 

• Crisis management – from on-site investigations to managing governmental agencies, our lawyers are adept at the initial work that needs to be done to minimize litigation risk
• Litigation strategy – with lawyers skilled in working with clients to execute the strategy that meets your goal in litigation
• Document-intensive litigation – handling e-discovery issues relating to litigation holds, preservation obligations, document sweeps, and retention as an essential part of our litigation skill set
• Retaining and opposing experts in technical fields – extensive experience with experts in the field of railroad operations, railroad safety, railroad/highway safety design and equipment, and the medical fields associated with railroad injuries, including occupational injuries
• Derailment and train/train accident investigations in complex accident investigations – including experience with the NTSB, the FRA, and state and local environmental and emergency response agencies
• Mass tort actions and class actions – handling some of the largest railroad mass tort, multi-plaintiff, and class action matters in the country
• Trial-tested – over 125 jury trials for railroads handled by our team in some of the most challenging venues in the country; if you determine that a trial is necessary, we will not hesitate to take your case to trial

Following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

• Served as lead trial counsel in over 125 trials for Class I railroads in some of the most dangerous venues in America
• Led a 10-year investigation over fraudulent asbestos claims filed against a firm railroad client, resulting in RICO and fraud claims being asserted against a prominent railroad plaintiffs' law firm and their expert witness pulmonologist, with a federal jury finding for our railroad client on all counts and awarding treble RICO damages
• Tried case to a defense verdict after a month-long trial, representing railroad client in severe traumatic brain injury claim arising from grade crossing accident
• Served as lead trial counsel in dozens of FELA cases involving occupational exposure
• Served as lead trial counsel in numerous trespasser cases involving deaths or major injuries with defense verdicts returned in each
• Served as lead trial counsel in numerous sidetrack agreement enforcement actions for class I railroads, with trial and appellate victories that enforced the agreements and required the sidetrack agreement signatories to reimburse the railroads for the cost associated with incidents that occurred at the sidetrack