Grube v. Union Pacific R.R.

886 P.2d 845 (1994)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Grube (P) was employed by Union Pacific Railroad Company (D). P was operating as engineer and his train collided with an automobile trapped upon a railroad crossing. One of the occupants in the automobile died, and two others suffered serious injury as a result of the collision. The decedent's heirs and the injured parties sued Grube (P) and Union Pacific (D). Those claims were settled. P filed a cross-claim against D seeking damages for negligent infliction of emotional injury with accompanying physical manifestations. P remembers the driver of the vehicle, a young man, looking at the approaching engine with an expression of shock, fright, or fear. P sustained no physical injury as a result of the collision. At the accident scene, P exhibited physical manifestations of his emotional distress; he became physically ill and, he 'threw up.' At the time of the accident, P had no thoughts of fear of personal injury at the time of the accident. Another employee in the cab ducked down before impact out of fear of possible explosion at the time of impact. D moved for a directed verdict, claiming that P could not recover damages for infliction of emotional distress under FELA absent physical injuries. The trial court took this motion under advisement. The jury returned a verdict for P for $121,500 in damages. D moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. The trial court denied this motion except for the question of whether P could recover for emotional distress absent physical injury. The court upheld the verdict. D appealed.