Paula Jossart, Jossart Law Office, LLC

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Railroad companies’ injured workers are not governed by state workers’ compensation laws or social security, but by the Federal Employer’s Liability Act. FELA cases have become a niche for Paula Jossart.

In a recent case Jossart received an $8.1 million verdict against BNSF. (“Nearly every penny I asked for,” Jossart said.) Her client was riding on the back platform of a train when the cars went slack, flinging him off the train. He sustained severe stomach injuries and herniations and wears a brace now. He also had a double fusion in his back. Jossart said the evidence suggested that the train engineer was inexperienced and made mistakes, violating safety rules.

In another case, Jossart worked with a Florida attorney on behalf of an 18-year-old who was working with his father because the Canadian Pacific Railway was short-staffed, allegedly under the industry’s precision scheduling policies. The boy has had 27 facial surgeries. “This is a big area with a lot of safety concerns,” Jossart said, warning that the country is likely to see more injuries and deaths.

In a 2018 case also against BNSF, involving a neurological injury from hydrocarbons, Jossart secured a $15.3 million award, plus $6.3 million in sanctions in Kowalewski v. BNSF Railway Company. The case was tried only on damages because the railroad’s causation and liability defenses were stricken.

Jossart’s client lived alone in Hawley, Minnesota, and spent most of his time on his woodworking business and his garden. He was a very strong and an independent person, she said. The only time he became emotional at trial was when he talked about his sister, who left her home in Florida and moved to Minnesota to take care of him, Jossart said.

Jossart’s website lists a dozen six- or seven-figure verdicts against BNSF (including the neurological injury above.) It does not reference any other sanctions awards. It is also replete with other significant awards for injured clients.