GREAT FALLS - A jury has awarded a former Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad conductor $1.6 million after he slipped and injured his back at a rail yard in Whitefish. The jury determined Thursday night after a four-day trial that BNSF was 85 percent to blame for the early 2006 accident while conductor Patrick Cheff was 15 percent to blame. Cheff's attorney, Terry Trieweiler, said his client slipped as he entered a BNSF locker room and injured his back.
"It was in a dangerous area that had been brought to the railroad's attention," the attorney said. "It was near where sloped roofs came together, allowing snow and ice to accumulate." BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas declined to comment about the case Friday night. Defense attorneys questioned whether the accident caused the injury and if it did, who was at fault.