Judge Slaps Railroad With $4M Penalty for ‘Staggering’ Pattern of Misconduct

A Minnesota judge has added a $4 million fine to an already hefty jury verdict against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. involving a fatal train-car crash related to a crossing gate failure.

The railroad is alleged to have begun destroying evidence within minutes of the 2003 crash in Anoka, Minn.

On Thursday, Judge Ellen Maas characterized the actions as a "staggering" pattern of misconduct. The $4 million is in addition to a $21.6 million jury verdict in June that placed 90 percent of the blame for the accident on Burlington Northern, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

"When encountering conduct as egregious as that of BNSF, this court ... has a duty to impose sanctions of a sufficient severity in order to deter future misconduct of the same caliber," Maas ruled.

Of the additional penalty, $3 million is to go to the families, $1 million for legal fees.

The Star-Tribune reports that Maas held that Burlington Northern "lost or fabricated evidence, interfered with the families' investigation of the accident and 'knowingly advanced lies, misleading facts and/or misrepresentations' in order to conceal the truth."

The $4 million falls far short of the $45 million sanction sought by the families, who claimed the conduct amounted to "one of the largest miscarriages of justice" in American history.

Mass wouldn't go that far, but did agree that the railroad's conduct put the families at a "tremendous disadvantage" by forcing them to hire expensive experts and delaying proceedings.

Killed in the crash were four young adults: Brian Frazier, Bridgette Shannon, Corey E. Chase, and Harry Rhoades.

Also see:

Anoka County Union: "Jury finds in favor of train accident victims"