Railroad Injury

For decades, Schlichter Bogard has provided top-tier, uncompromising representation to America’s railroad workers. Our experience and track record serving railroad workers are second to none.

Our firm commands respect throughout the railroad industry for our aggressive representation of all crafts of railroad employees, including engineers, conductors, switchmen, maintenance of way workers, carmen, and shop craft employees. We are one of a very small group of plaintiffs’ law firms that have consistently been named by U.S. News & World Report as “National Tier 1” railroad injury firms.

A limited sample of recent precedent-setting cases that we have handled for railroad workers throughout the country includes the following:

• A $12.5 million jury verdict for a railroad worker who lost his leg under the wheel of a train, which was the highest reported jury verdict for a worker against that railroad.
• A $7 million settlement in a case brought on behalf of a railroad worker who suffered serious injuries in a close clearance incident, which is believed to have been the largest settlement in the state for an injured railroad worker.
• A $6 million jury verdict for a track worker struck by a passing train.
• A $20.5 million judgment for a severely injured and disabled railroad worker.
• A substantial (confidential) settlement in a case brought on behalf of a conductor who raised a disability discrimination claim after his railroad company refused to allow him to return to work—despite medical approval and authorization to do so—following a minor injury that was surgically rectified.

Experience and Respect

Our railroad injury attorneys have unmatched experience, and include the following attorneys:

• Jerry Schlichter. Jerry is Designated Legal Counsel for the United Transportation Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and was Designated Legal Counsel for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen when the Union had a designated legal counsel program.  He is also former President of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys.
• Chuck Armbruster. Chuck has obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. He is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a forum for lawyers who have obtained multi-million dollar verdicts. Membership is limited to fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers. He is also one of The Top 100 National Trial Lawyers, a group of premier trial lawyers who meet stringent qualifications.
• Andy Schlichter. Andy has obtained substantial, precedent-setting results for injured railroad workers, including in cases recognized by Missouri Lawyers Weekly and other publications. He also served on the Plainiffs’ Steering Committee in the East Palestine train derailment litigation that settled for over $600 million.

Improving Conditions for Railroad Workers Nationwide

In addition to successfully handling hundreds of railroad injury cases, over the years we have also tackled important issues in the railroad industry on behalf of railroad employees. Some of these efforts include the following:

• Successfully defeating a Union Pacific lawsuit to punish railroad workers and union officers for a claimed “wildcat strike.”
• Successfully suing the Federal Railroad Administration to block unfair engineer-certification procedures.
• Successfully suing a railroad to stop enforcement of a rule restricting an employee’s ability to have access to witnesses, a case which resulted in a state supreme court invalidating the rule and fining the railroad a substantial sum.
• Working hand-in-hand with rail labor to pass fair legislation affecting the rights of railroad workers.
• Successfully handling many “whistleblower” cases for railroad employees wrongfully disciplined for reporting an injury or safety violation.