Trespassers Sue, Win Millions In Lawsuit

The Associated Press out of Philadelphia reported today that a jury awarded two men $24.2 million after they trespassed onto railroad property, climbed atop a rail car, and then were burned by electrical wires.

The two individuals, Jeffrey Klein and Brett Birdwell, were 17 at the time of the incident and sued both Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Corp. claiming that the companies should have posted warning signs about the wires that power the locomotives that they had climbed atop after trespassing. The incident apparently happened in Lancaster.

Klien was awarded $11 million, while Birdwell gained $588,000. In addition, punitive damages of $8.75 million were awarded against Amtrak, while Norfolk Southern got hit with $3.75 million in punitive damages.

Both Klein and Birdwell are 22 now. At the time of the incident they lived in Stroudsburg, but were visiting Klien's mother in Lancaster. The incident happened when they were skateboarding and they became curious about the view from the top of the train car.

To read a story about this on Lancaster Online, click here. To read the AP story, click here.