
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 29, 1995                   TAG: 9508010039
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: F.J. GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EX-EMPLOYEE, NS SETTLE SUIT OVER ASBESTOS

As jury members filed back into Roanoke Circuit Court Friday morning, they expected to spend most of the day deliberating evidence presented during a lawsuit filed by a former Norfolk and Western Railway employee against the railroad.

But jurors never got the opportunity to decide whether the railroad bore any responsibility for the cancer that Grady L. Burrell said was the result of exposure to asbestos during his career as an engineer and fireman from 1943 to 1980.

"Even though I told you yesterday that today you would hear closing arguments and decide the case, that will not happen," Judge Robert P. Doherty told the jurors. "Last night, around 10:30 or 11, I got a call and was told that the attorneys had reached a settlement. You'll all be dismissed and free to go shortly."

Although terms of the settlement with the railroad - now known as Norfolk Southern Corp. - remained confidential, Grady had sought $5 million in damages, in addition to court and medical costs.

Doherty, in his statement to jurors announcing the agreement, characterized the case as "unusual" because of the high degree of professionalism exhibited by attorneys on both sides.

Several of the jurors, upon hearing the outcome, took the opportunity to wish the 78-year-old Burrell the best of luck.

The sentiments, though, in no way reflected the certainty of the case.

"I think Mr. Burrell would have lost," juror Paul Mikulak said after he was dismissed, "but that doesn't remove the fact that we all got to know him and his family during the trial."

Mikulak stressed, though, that he would have reserved judgment until after hearing the closing arguments and the judge's instructions.

Other jurors offered similar comments.

"Both sides had good people," said one juror who declined to be identified. "It would have been hard to make a decision. I'm glad I didn't have to."

Some of the jurors felt that Burrell did not realize the extent of his illness until he heard medical experts testify during the trial. They said his apparent reaction in court to the news elicited their sympathies.

Roanoke juries have returned some of the largest personal injury awards in area history in cases brought against the railroad, including a $4.7 million verdict in favor of an employee who suffered a disabling back injury. That award later was thrown out by the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled the employee's injury was caused by carelessness.

by CNB