Two Workers Lose Feet in Same Week, Win Judgments
A recurring industrial nightmare in Tacoma: employees suffer catastrophic injuries in railroad and rail-related jobs, leading to high-stakes legal battles for compensation.
Frank Harrigan this morning got a verdict against the Puget Sound Railway company for $5,500 in federal court for the loss of a foot. Harrigan was employed by the company and in getting off a car in the dark he was thrown under the wheels. This is the second similar verdict returned in Tacoma this week, John Lundberg on Thursday receiving $4,600 in a damage case against the N. P. (Northern Pacific) company for the loss of a foot.
“Harrigan was employed by the company and in getting off a car in the dark he was thrown under the wheels.”
Early 20th-century industrial rail work was incredibly hazardous, often lacking the basic safety standards that would emerge in later decades. While today we have robust workers' compensation systems, these lawsuits represent a time when workers had to sue their employers in public court just to survive a life-altering disability.
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