Lund

Certified for Partial Publication. [*]

This is an appeal by defendant San Joaquin Valley Railroad (appellant) from a judgment against it in a worker's suit for personal injury under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 United States Code section 51 et seq. (FELA). In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we discuss appellant's contentions that plaintiff Ronald G. Lund (respondent) obtained judgment in his favor under "a theory [that] is contrary to federal substantive law," that no evidence demonstrates respondent's injury was foreseeable, and that the jury was misinstructed. In the published portion, we discuss appellant's claim the judgment impermissibly awards prejudgment interest. We affirm the judgment.

Appellant owns a series of switching lines in central California. These connector lines permit packing houses and other producers to move their goods to main lines for shipment by the major railroads. The connector lines generally are class 1 or class 2 track, which means speed is restricted on the track and the quality and maintenance of the track and rail bed is somewhat reduced.

In early 1997, appellant brought in a "tie gang" from Fresno to…