Raymond J. Veelik v. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, a Corporation

The action was filed by Veelik under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq. There was a trial before a jury, which rendered a verdict in his favor for $2,000.00, damages for personal injuries sustained by him as a result of a railway train accident while he was employed as a fireman by the Santa Fé. The company had admitted liability, but denied that plaintiff suffered damage in the sum of $100,000.00, as he claimed.

The record has been carefully reviewed. While a much higher verdict might have been justified on the evidence if the triers of fact had chosen to return a greater amount, there was no basis for granting a new trial or setting aside the award which was made. The sum which they gave plaintiff Veelik was amply compensatory for the moderately severe contusions which he sustained according to the doctor who first examined him immediately after the occurrence. Even if it were found according to the report of the physician who examined him a month later that he received “multiple contusions and abrasions” including “cervical strain and sprain,” which had then “essentially resolved,” the jury might well have concluded with this doctor that his…