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November 5, 2007 - Arnold & Itkin LLP Attorney Jason Itkin represents victims in wrongful death trial
(Excerpts summarized from the Southeast Texas Record, a legal journal based in Beaumont, Texas)
Jurors will have to decide whether Patsy Ardoin negligently failed to stay stopped at a railroad crossing or if it was Union Pacific's inadequate safety precautions that caused Ardoin's vehicle to be struck by a train. Ardoin was killed in the train collision, while Ardoin's 4-year-old daughter Jazmine Cezar, a passenger in the vehicle, was thrown from the truck. Jazmine Cezar survived the accident, but spent almost six months in various hospitals and will be confined to a wheelchair the rest of her life.
Derrick Cezar, the girl's father and Ardoin's fiance, filed suit against Union Pacific in February 2006, claiming the railroad was negligent and responsible for the incident because the railroad crossing lacked electric gates and lights. The plaintiffs, represented by Attorney Jason Itkin of Arnold & Itkin LLP, argue that had the crossing been equipped with gates and lights, Ardoin would still be alive today and Cezar's daughter would not be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Plaintiffs are seeking damages just to cover the girl's medical expenses.
"Corporations have a right to make a profit, but with that right comes a responsibility to (ensure public safety), said plaintiffs' lawyer Jason Itkin. "Street signs don't tell you if a train is coming."
In response, the defense argued that equipping the crossing with electric gates was the responsibility of the city of Vinton and the Louisiana Department of Transportation, and even if Union Pacific desired to upgrade the crossing, the company lacked the authority to make it happen.
Attorney Jason Itkin said Union Pacific has a policy of upgrading all passive crossings and the very federal and state laws the company was hiding behind also permitted the company to act on its own accord if it deems a crossing to be a "dangerous trap" or a crossing where many accidents occur. A dangerous trap is a railroad crossing that is federally mandated to be equipped with electric gates and signals because the crossing's visibility is poor. Testimony and evidence in the case showed that several fatal accidents had occurred at the Vinton crossing over the last decade, and that Vinton's mayor offered Union Pacific $200,000 to install lights and gates.
Incredibly, before Cezar's suit was filed in Jefferson County, Union Pacific filed suit first in a Louisiana court against Ardoin and Cezar for causing the collision and disrupting business.
The wrongful death trial of Derrick Cezar et al vs. Union Pacific Railroad taking place in Judge Gary Sanderson's 60th District Court, began Oct. 23, and a verdict is expected as soon as next week.
Read the complete articles online in the Southeast Texas Record:
11/1/2007 - Testimony continues in $3M Union Pacific wrongful death trial
10/25/2007 - Attorneys urge jurors to set aside emotions in $3 M railroad wrongful death trial
10/24/2007 - Railroad crossing safety questioned in Union Pacific wrongful death trial
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