Railway Worker Awarded Over 140,000 Dollars for Knee Injury

A Connecticut railway worker, who was injured in the course of his employment and then denied a promotion because of his injury, has been awarded more than 140,000 in damages by the Connecticut Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Bill Ordner from New Haven, Connecticut, worked as an ironmonger for the Metro-North Railroad when, in 2008, he injured his knee in a work-related accident. His employers claimed that the injury was not work-related, disqualifying Bill from claiming Worker´s Compensation while he was unable to work and unable to claim against a medical bill in excess of $2,000.

On returning to work, Bill applied for the position of locomotive engineer – one he was adequately qualified for – but was turned down by Metro-North Railroad on the grounds of his knee injury. Bill took legal advice on the matter and sued Metro-North railroad for personal injury and loss arising from their misclassification of his knee injury.

In the subsequent hearing at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration offices in Boston, the administration judged that Metro-North’s policies and actions “may deter employees from reporting on-the-job injuries for fear of financial or career consequences”, and ordered them to pay Bill $125,000 in punitive damages, $5,000 in compensatory damages and $11,651 in legal and medical expenses.

Metro-North Railroad also was ordered to pay Bill the difference between his current rate of pay and that of the new position plus interest.