Family Awarded $2.3 million In Suit Over Haltom Man’s Death
Family Awarded $2.3 million In Suit Over Haltom Man’s Death
By Tara Dooley
American
Airlines and a security firm are found negligent
in a 1991 accident in which the victim was hit
by a freight train near Alliance
Airport.
The widow and the daughter of a Haltom City man
who was killed by a freight train at Alliance
Airport seven years ago have been awarded $2.3
million in a wrongful death lawsuit against American
Airlines, a security guard and his employer.
At the end of a 2 1/2 week trial in state
District Jude Dana Womack's Fort Worth courtroom,
a jury decided Wednesday that the airline and
Smith
Protective Services were negligent in the
death of Malcolm Burdette. "It's been
dragged out for seven years and we're just
real happy to have some closure to it, so we can
get on with our lives," Jimy Burdette, Malcolm
Burdette's widow, said yesterday.
Michael E. Heygood,
attorney for Jimy Burdette and her daughter, Allison,
said the family is satisfied with the verdict.
Jurors agreed that the companies had not taken
proper precautions at a railroad crossing at an
American Airlines maintenance facility and shared
responsibility for Burdette's death, he
said.
"It made them feel good that it at least
wasn't all his fault and that American Airlines
should have looked at their procedures better,"
Heygood said.
John Hotard, a spokesman for American Airlines,
said the company has not decided whether to appeal
the decision, but he declined to comment further.
The Dallas attorney for Smith Protective Services
said the company is disappointed with the verdict.
"We're waiting for the post-verdict
motions," Mitchell Madden said. "At
that point, my clients will make a determination
on whether or not it's necessary to appeal."
Malcolm Burdette died June 6, 1991, as he was
driving his pickup on a private road that crossed
tracks now used by Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Railway, Heygood, said. Burdette, 49, worked for
a Fort Worth steel company that was helping to
build the America Airlines maintenance base. The
accident occurred about 4:30 p.m. as he was leaving
the base on his way to the steel company offices,
Heygood said.
In addition, the guard, James Pond, had not placed
orange barrels in front of the crossing -
the custom when trains were approaching, Heygood
said. "The guard was on the phone and wasn't
paying attention," he said.
In its verdict, the jury decided that Pond was
50 percent responsible for the collision, American
Airlines was 30 percent to blame and Burdette,
20 percent. At the time, Pond was employed by
Centurion Protection, which the jury determined
was the same business as Smith Protective Services.
Madden said the companies were owned and managed
separately. According to the lawsuit, American
Airlines hired Smith guards to control traffic
over the tracks.
Heygood said the jury verdict holds the companies
responsible for not living up to their obligation
to provide a safe crossing point. "I think
ultimately it says that if you agree to do something
in our society, you need to do it," Heygood
said."If you are going to watch for a train
and that's your only job, you need to watch
for the train."
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