An anti-trust lawsuit has been filed against Norfolk Southern Railway Company alleging that the Norfolk, Virginia (VA) based railroad and 4 major rail carriers conspired to price gouge.
The Federal Government’s Surface Transportation Board regulates the rates that major railroads charge to their customers. This lawsuit accuses Norfolk Southern of conspiring to set prices especially gas surcharges by improperly fixing the prices in conjunction with other major rail carriers like CSX Transportation, the other major east coast rail carrier.
As a plaintiff side injury lawyer who routinely sues Norfolk Southern and CSX, as well as Amtrak, on behalf their employees when they get hurt on the job, it does not surprise me that this lawsuit alleges a conspiracy among major U.S. railroads. When we handle Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) cases on behalf of railroad employees it often appears that the railroads have gotten together at industry meetings and organized concerted joint effort to deprive these workers of fair compensation on their claims of injury and wrongful death as a result of the railroads’ negligence. For example, all of the major railroad companies across the U.S. use a legal trick whereby they create a sham vocational rehabilitation department within the railroad. The alleged purpose of the vocational rehabilitation department is to offer services to railroad workers who are hurt to help them get back gainful employment on the railroad or elsewhere. However, these programs were set up by the railroad legal departments, who are fighting against the claims of the workers, not in any way which shows any independence from the railroads’ own lawyers and claims agents. As a plaintiff’s lawyer from Norfolk, Virginia (VA) representing railroad workers in FELA cases, I believe that the purpose of the vocation rehabilitation departments at Norfolk Southern and CSX are merely to have another weapon to use against the injured claimant in these cases. The railroads try to make the worker look bad for not participating in their so-called program. What happens in the program, however, is that the railroads send the worker to doctors and vocational experts of the railroad’s choosing, who will say that the worker is not really as hurt as he claims. I believe that this kind of manipulation by the major railroads of the court system was likely brainstormed and agreed upon at industry meetings. When I see all the railroads like Norfolk Southern and CSX doing exactly the same thing in FELA cases, it doesn’t surprise me that they have also agreed to do exactly the same thing in terms of getting financial advantage over their customers as well.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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