THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509280419
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Digest
LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to clarify the scope of a federal law aimed at protecting railroad employees from being hurt by the equipment used to couple and uncouple railroad cars.
The court said it will use a dispute over a 1990 accident in Missouri to decide whether the law protects a worker hurt while trying to straighten a misaligned piece of equipment between two cars even if there is evidence the equipment was defective.
The Norfolk & Western Railway Co. is appealing a $492,500 award by brakeman William J. Hiles, who hurt his back in a July 18, 1990, accident at N&W's Luther Yard in St. Louis.
Hiles sued the railroad in a Madison County, Ill., court. He alleged that the railroad had violated the federal Safety Appliance Act, which bars railroads from using any car not ``equipped with ... couplers coupling automatically by impact, and capable of being uncoupled without the necessity of individuals going between the ends of the vehicles.'' A car's coupling mechanism consists of a knuckle, or clamp, that opens and closes connected to a heavy drawbar. (AP) by CNB