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Missouri Pacific Railroad Company v. Roberson5/11/2000
knee while walking on large ballast during a car inspection. Mr. Roberson stated that he had complained to his employer prior to his 1987, injury of the dangers posed by walking on large ballast, but the railroad did nothing to alleviate the problem. Mr. Roberson then described an incident that took place at the railroad yard prior to October, 1991, involving the railroad's master mechanic, a Mr. Eason, and another carman, Joe Matejek. The incident was described as follows:
A.[Roberson] Yeah, Mr. Eason was called out in the yard one night because one car man was objecting to going out there.
Q.[Plaintiff's trial counsel] And who was that?
A. That was Joe Matejek. He said he wasn't going out there, it's too dangerous. So they called Mr. Eason, the Master Mechanic, and Matejek took Mr. Eason out there to show him what he's talking about.
Q. And what was the nature of the complaint that you heard being made to Mr. Eason?
A. He was complaining about the debris, the big rocks, and the closeness of the tracks in that area, in the class tracks.
Q. And they went out to look at it together?
A. Right.
Q. Did they return to where you were?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you at this time hear Mr. Eason respond orally, verbally, to what Mr. Matejek had complained about?
A. Right. I did hear it.
Q. And what did he say?
A. He said it was too dangerous. He said it's too dangerous to work out there.
Q. What was done that evening with the train that Mr. Matejek had been ordered to inspect in the classification tracks?
A. He took the train out of the classification tracks and put it in another track.
Q. The next evening that you would have worked, the next shift that you would have worked following that incident with Mr. Matejek and Mr. Eason, were any trains spotted in the class tracks?
A. Yes.
Q. Did that incident between Mr. Matejek and Mr. Eason change the practice and policy of the railroad of spotting trains in the class tracks and having carman men go inspect in there?
A. Well, they decided when they'd spot a train over there that they would lock the two adjacent tracks to prevent any movement on the side of you when you're working in the classification tracks.
Q. Did they do anything to alleviate or remedy Mr. Matejek's complaint about the weeds the debris or the large rock?
A. No.
Q. Were debris problems corrected?
A. No.
Q. Was the large rock removed?
A. No.
Q. Was the rock, the large rock that was there, smoothed over and packed down so it wouldn't tend to shift?
A. No.
Other Missouri Pacific/Union Pacific employees echoed the testimony of Mr. Roberson concerning the unsafe conditions for persons walking the classification tracks. Joe Varela, also a carman, stated that the ballast surrounding the classification tracks is "large sized," and that large size ballast "makes it difficult for walking." When asked why large size ballast makes walking difficult, Varela replied, "Because it shifts underfoot as you're walking along. It has a tendency to shift on you from one side to another, and it's just sometimes - - it's just liable to go in any direction." Another carman, Phillip Lundry, agreed that, regarding the type of large ballast found at the classification tracks, a person cannot tell "by eyesight" which rock will not support a person's weight. He also agreed that large ballast can "shift out from under you even when you're being extra ca
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