Facts

Plaintiff contended he injured his knee and lower back when his safety vest snagged on a locomotive compartment door hinge, and failed to break away.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended he injured his knee and lower back when when his safety vest snagged on a locomotive compartment door hinge, and failed to break away.

Plaintiff contended that his employer was negligent in requiring him to wear a loose fitting, breakaway safety vest while performing his work on Union Pacific locomotives. Plaintiff contended that Union Pacific Railroad Co. knew that the safety vest did not break away and others had snagged safety vests on equipment prior to his snagging incident. Plaintiff also contended that the compartment door hinge on the locomotive had an open or unpeened hinge, which created a dangerous condition when coupled with loose fitting clothing, including the safety vest.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Union Pacific denied plaintiff's allegations and argued that the door hinge was not a dangerous condition.

Result

The jury returned a defense verdict.