On the day of trial, May 7, 2008, the matter of Estate of Edwin Zambrano vs. CSX Intermodal, et al was settled in the amount of $6,000,000. The settlement was accepted by Melba Zambrano as the Administratrix for the Estate of Edwin Zambrano.
On September 17, 2004, Edwin Zambrano was assisting another truck driver at the South Kearny CSX Intermodal yard when he was struck by a slow moving freight train. He left two (2) children through his marriage with Melba Zambrano and he had two (2) other children in Honduras. Mr. Zambrano suffered significant pain and suffering for 50 minutes before he was transferred to UMDNJ and sedated. He died a number of hours later. The suit alleged that the conductor, who was supervising the movement of the train from a utility vehicle, passed Zambrano but did not warn him of the train’s approach.
Attorney Scott A. Parsons of New Jersey law firm O’Connor, Parsons & Lane, LLC argued that the yellow safety line that was beside the track wasn’t far enough from the rails to account for the train’s overhang, which struck Zambrano. Parsons also argued that the conductor should have been on the train to warn anyone in its path.
The defendants argued that Mr. Zambrano was comparatively negligent by placing his body in the path of an oncoming train. In order to overcome this contention, the law office of O’Connor, Parsons & Lane, LLC hired a biomechanical expert, a computer animator and a human factors expert. They also retained various other experts, which included a railroad expert, a truck expert and various pain and suffering experts.
Under the settlement, arranged by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso, Jr., CSX of Jacksonville, Florida will pay $4,000,000; Pacific Rail Services of Seattle, which operates the yard’s container operations, will pay $1,000,000 and Zambrano’s employer, third-party defendant Dray Con Transit, will pay $1,000,000.
The attorneys of O’Connor, Parsons, and Lane, LLC are experienced in personal injury, medical malpractice, and employment law cases. For information about a free consultation, visit http://www.lawnj.net/.
