Case Examples

Railroad Injuries

Personal Injury

A worker was transferring spent oil filters from one container to another when he claimed to have felt debilitating pain in his lower back. He also claimed that this caused a ruptured lumbar disc and the need for surgery. There were no eye witnesses.

Did the transfer maneuvers cause the injury?
What was the mechanism of injury?

Railroad Injuries

Personal Injury

An engineer with preexisting multilevel degenerative disc disease claimed to have suffered disc herniations to his low back when the locomotive of a freight train that he was operating struck a Mack truck at an intersection. Before the impact, he went to his left between the conductor's seat and the engineer's seat, trying to get to a safe area. He did not fall to the floor and he was uncertain if his body hit anything in the interior of the locomotive. The Event Recorder data for the locomotive showed that upon impact with the truck the speed of the train dropped from 47 miles per hour to 46 miles per hour.

Did the impact cause the injuries?
Did his maneuvering to get to a safe area cause his injuries?