Burlington Northern, Inc. v. Priscilla G. Boxberger, Personal Representative of the Estate of Kenneth R. Boxberger, Deceased

Suit in the District Court was instituted under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act [F.E.L.A.], 45 U.S.C. §§ 51-60 . Originally three separate actions were filed against the appellant railroad, one for the death of an engineer (Ritter), a second for the death of a fireman (Box-berger), and the third, for injury to a brakeman (Stanwood). At the time of the accident that gave rise to the suit, Ritter, Boxberger, and Stanwood were employees of the appellant. A collision occurred between a locomotive operated by these employees and a chain of boxcars escaping from the appellant’s railroad yard in Bend, Oregon. The three cases were consolidated, and at the outset of the trial the railroad admitted liability, leaving the amount of damages as the only issue for trial. Early in the trial the claim of the injured brakeman was resolved by compromise. A jury verdict was rendered in the two remaining cases, and the judgment in favor of the survivors of the engineer (Ritter) was satisfied.

This appeal relates only to the jury’s verdict awarding $335,000 for the death of Boxberger. Following entry of judgment for $335,000 on the jury’s verdict, •the railroad moved for a new trial or,…