Earlier this year BNSF announced new Safety Rule S-26-3-1. The rule purported to require disclosure of private medical records and "fitness for duty" evaluations by BNSF's Medical and Environmental Health Department whenever employees were diagnosed with certain...
Missoula Legal Blog
Railroad’s Refusal to Abide by Doctor’s Orders Can Constitute Illegal Retaliation
A March 26 OSHA ruling against New York City commuter railroad Metro-North clarifies that a railroad employer must respect any post-injury restrictions imposed by the employee's treating physician, and may be liable for illegal retaliation if it fails to do...
Montana Supreme Court Finds Plan II Employers Are Not Within the Insurer’s Attorney-Client Privilege
A Montana employer that elects to place its workers' compensation coverage under statutory Plan II turns all of the responsibility for adjusting and settling work comp claims over to the insurance company. The Montana Supreme Court relied on that principle when it...
Retaliation Need Only Be a “Contributing Factor,” Not the Only Reason
On February 12, 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board held in favor of the railroad employee in DeFrancesco v. Union Railroad Co. Mr. DeFrancesco alleged that his employer, Union Railroad Co., illegally retaliated against him for reporting...
OSHA Not Happy With BNSF’s “Points Policy”
Last summer OSHA told BNSF to stop using its "points policy" to try to intimidate employees out of reporting on-duty personal injuries. The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 2007 prohibits railroads from retaliating against employees who report on-duty injuries....
Montana Supreme Court distinguishes Citizens United, upholds century-old state-law limits on corporate campaign contributions
On December 30, the Montana Supreme Court issued an important decision upholding Montana's statutory limits on corporate campaign finance. The statute has been on the books since 1912 and was the state's response to the political wars between the "Copper Kings" of...
Russian Long-Haul Driver Sentenced
In November of 2011, District Judge Deschamps sentenced contract truck driver Sergey Buslayev to a 20-year prison term, with 10 years suspended on conditions, for his role in negligently causing the death of volunteer firefighter Jerry Parrick. Parrick was parked in...
Trial Lawyer of the Year
The Montana Trial Lawyers Association recognized David Paoli as Trial Lawyer of the Year at their annual convention on August 4, 2011.
McBride v. CSX: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Railroads’ Demand to Gut FELA Causation Standard
On June 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court held that FELA juries must continue to be instructed that the railroad is liable if its negligence played any part, even the slightest, in contributing to the injured employee's damages. The Court's decision is...
Montana Supreme Court Orders Tobacco Diligent Enforcement Litigation Forward
We filed this case on behalf of the State of Montana in the Spring of 2006.The tobacco companies responded by moving to compel the case into a large, expensive arbitration involving more than 40 other states. Initially, the District Court in Helena agreed.But by...
