Rossman Baumberger lawyers win $2.58M award to CSX conductor injured in tractor-trailer collision

MIAMI - Nov. 19, 2018 - PRLog -- Rossman Baumberger Reboso & Spier attorneys have won a $2,576,069 verdict from a Tampa jury on behalf of a Jacksonville CSX railroad conductor who suffered back injuries when his freight train struck a tractor-trailer going through a Lakeland, Fl., railroad crossing.

Howard A. Spier, name partner at the Miami firm, and associate Matthew Grossman won the verdict after a five-day trial. The jury entered the verdict after less than two hours' deliberations November 9 and Circuit Judge Cheryl Thomas entered the final judgment November 14.

On the morning of November 19, 2015, Justin J. Downing, now 29, was the conductor on a CSX freight train just starting its Lakeland-to-Jacksonville run when a tractor-trailer hauling new automobiles and driven by Santiago-Ramos of Lakeland pulled out from an entrance to a tire company onto a rail crossing.

The oncoming train of five locomotives and 34 rail cars, traveling at 29 mph, sounded its horn with headlights on as Santiago-Ramos approached the crossing. As the engineer activated the emergency brakes, Mr. Downing knelt on the cab floor to protect against flying objects and braced himself for the impact, which violently twisted and jerked his body. He also struck his head.

Downing was initially diagnosed with a back sprain and head contusion and returned to his regular job several days later. Santiago-Ramos was uninjured.

On March 8, 2016, Downing sued Santiago-Ramos and his employer, Hansen & Adkins Auto Transport, alleging negligence and liability.

(Justin J. Downing vs. Hansen & Adkins Transport and Jose M. Santiago-Ramos,

Case No.: 2016-CA-2243, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court, Civil,

Hillsborough County. See attached for more detailed information on the case.)

Mr. Downing's condition worsened over time, and he took himself off work in late December 2016 due to mid-back pain. He then underwent an extensive pain management regime, and in December 2017 was implanted with a spinal cord stimulator device to reduce pain. He soon developed a serious sepsis infection and the device was removed. Mr. Downing recovered and testified that he intends to receive another stimulator.

The court granted summary judgment on the issue of liability after Mr. Santiago-Ramos admitted that he drove past a stop sign at the crossing without stopping, failed to heed the approach of the train, and was on his cell phone in violation of company policy. The trial began Monday, November 5, and the jury delivered its verdict after less than two hours' deliberations Friday, November 9.

Ellis T. Fernandez, III, of Jacksonville, represented the defendants.

Rossman, Baumberger, Reboso & Spier, was founded in 1974 to represent victims of catastrophic injury. Mr. Spier is a Martindale-Hubbell AV lawyer and is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Florida Super Lawyers. A former president of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys with more than three decades' experience, he is a frequent presenter on railroad safety. Matthew J. Grossman is licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, and represents the rights of the injured throughout the Southeast, including numerous trucking and transportation cases. To learn more, go to www.rbrlaw.com or call 305-373-0708.
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