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McDermott v. Consolidated Rail Corporation

A new trial was necessary where the jury verdict failed to compensate an employee for the pain he suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome because the verdict was inconsistent with the finding that the employer's negligence caused the development of the inherently painful condition.

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� 1 Appellant, Shaun McDermott, appeals from an order entered in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas denying his motion for a new trial as to damages awarded him under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C.A. �� 51-60. The trial court upheld the jury verdict, which: found Appellee, Consolidated Rail Corporation, liable for Appellant’s carpal tunnel syndrome; compensated Appellant for wages lost during rehabilitation from surgery; but declined to award damages for pain and suffering. (Trial Ct. Op. at 1) (citing Catalano v. Bujak, 642 A.2d 448 (Pa. 1994)). Because we find this case distinguishable from Catalano, and rather, controlled by Neison v. Hines, 653 A.2d 634 (Pa. 1995), we vacate and remand.

� 2 Appellant began working for Appellee in 1976 as a machinist and track repairman, jobs that require use of manual, electric and pneumatic tools. In 1994, tingling and pain in his hands led Appellant to have a nerve screening, from which he was first diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, a repetitive motion disorder. Subsequently, several physicians treated Appellant with splints and medications, but the pain persisted until 1997, when Appellant underwent carpal tunnel release surgeries on both of his hands. The surgeries and subsequent rehabilitation prevented Appellant from working between June and December 1997, during which time he forfeited $12,729 in anticipated wages. Since recovering from the surgeries, Appellant has not suffered pain in his hands and has been able to resume working as a machinist and railroad track repairman.

� 3 Appellant filed suit under FELA, alleging that Appellee negligently failed to provide safe working conditions, and that Appellee’s negligence caused Appellant to develop carpal tunnel syndrome. At trial, the parties vigorously litigated causation by presenting several physicians and occupational health experts who testified as to whether or not Appellant’s work, and therefore Appellee’s negligence, caused the carpal tunnel syndrome.

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