Arkansas Jury Awards $2M to Former Railroad Engineer

An Arkansas jury has ordered Union Pacific Corp. to pay a former engineer $2 million for injuries he suffered in a 2013 train crash.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that nine of 12 Pulaski County jurors decided 51-year-old Johnnie Ray Walker is due the sum because of the “severe, painful and disabling” injuries.

Union Pacific had admitted liability for compensatory damages to Walker, leaving jurors to determine how much he should be paid.

Walker’s 2014 lawsuit said he had stopped his locomotive to wait for three Union Pacific trains to cross ahead of him. The final locomotive derailed, with a container car and parts of other cars it was pulling striking Walker’s locomotive.

The lawsuit described Walker’s injuries to his head, back, neck and limbs due to the force of the impact.