High court rules in injured conductor case

The Montana Supreme Court has affirmed

a Cascade County District Court judge’s rulings in the case of a

BNSF Railway conductor who claimed he injured his back by slipping

on ice while entering a company locker room in Whitefish.

Following a jury trial last fall,

Patrick Cheff, of Whitefish, was awarded $1.6 million. Cheff was a

schoolteacher and wrestling coach in Whitefish from 1992 to 2004,

at which time he hired on with BNSF.

Whitefish attorney Terry Trieweiler

said the icy conditions had been reported to the company, but after

a four-day trial, the jury found that Cheff was 15 percent at fault

and BNSF was 85 percent at fault.

BNSF appealed the district court’s

decision, and Cheff cross-appealed. Justice Michael Wheat delivered

the Supreme Court’s opinion on Nov. 3.

Cheff had initially settled his claim

for $300,000 after being interviewed by BNSF claims manager Gregg

Keller. But the district court concluded that BNSF had committed

constructive fraud because Keller had made material

misrepresentations about Cheff’s right to continued medical

coverage. The high court agreed.

BNSF also claimed the district court

erred by prohibiting BNSF from using statements in Cheff’s medical

records. According to the medical records BNSF sought to put in

evidence, a note made by Dr. David Sobba, of Whitefish, indicated

Cheff had said he had back problems for about two weeks prior to

his slipping on the ice. In a note taken when he underwent an MRI,

Cheff said his back pain increased after weightlifting two weeks

prior to slipping, and in a note taken by Whitefish physical

therapist Jay Shaver, Cheff referred to weightlifting without a

belt on.

The Supreme Court ruled that the

district court erred by not allowing the medical records but noted,

“We will not reverse a district court where it reached the right

result, although for the wrong reason.”

The Supreme Court also ruled that the

district court was correct in setting aside the release Cheff

signed when he initially settled — “on the grounds of mutual

mistake” — and that the district court was correct in deducting the

$300,000 Cheff had already received from the $1.6 million jury

award.

As to whether Cheff was 15 percent at

fault, the Supreme Court agreed with the district court that he

unreasonably failed to see the risk in walking on the icy walkway

when he could have come in through the main entrance.