According to the Bakken Today and other media outlets, the parents of a 20-year old business student who was killed in a rail yard following a drinking party with fellow students, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming both the railroad and fraternity as defendants.
B.A., a student at the University of North Dakota, died on March 24, 2012, while trying to traverse a rail yard between his fraternity house and school. The rail yard is owned by BNSF Railway and is located just south of the campus.
B.A.'s parents, C.A. and R.A., filed the suit in state district court in Grand Forks. They are seeking a minimum of $50,000 in damages.
Police reports detail that B.A. was located at approximately 7:30 a.m. on March 24 by crew members working in the rail yard. Police believe that B.A. may have attempted to cross through or climb over the train cars as he walked in the yard. However, at some point, his right arm was severed off – causing him to bleed to death.
Along with BNSF Railway the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter fraternity, where B.A. attended a party on March 23, is also named in the suit. The international governing board of the fraternity has likewise been added as a defendant.
BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth wrote in an email, "We will review the filing and respond through the legal process." No word has yet been received from a Pi Kappa Alpha spokesperson.
Judge Karen Klein has been assigned the case, and documents show that the family and BNSF have both requested a trial by jury. No court date has been set. BNSF has filed a notice of removal, which, if granted, would move the case to federal court to be heard.
The complaint states that BNSF was aware of pedestrians using the rail yard as a pathway to UND. However, BNSF failed to warn people that the yard was unsafe to traverse. The suit specifically mentions the danger: railcars are moved by remote control by crew members that may, or may not, be able to see them move. The complaint states that the car's sudden actions create an "ultrahazardous" area.
Warnings in the yard are nonexistent, according to the suit. There are no fences, berms, ditches or gates that would deter pedestrians from entering the area. The suit states, "While entirely foreseeable, BNSF failed to acknowledge, consider, appreciate or act on the fact that its rail yard is in effect a silent lethal killing field in the middle of a concentrated population."
The fraternity is named as a defendant as they allegedly allowed B.A. to consume enough "altered alcoholic beverages or other substances" on its premises that it affected his abilities. Student identification – B.A. was underage – was also not checked at the entrance to the UND chapter house party.
During his autopsy B.A.'s blood alcohol was found to be 0.287.
It has been surmised by authorities that B.A. left the party at approximately 1 a.m., without his backpack, before heading into the rail yard.
In this lawsuit there is more than one defendant as more than one entity contributed to the untimely death of this young student. If you have lost your child, in a scenario such as this or a different one, contact a personal injury lawyer to file a wrongful death lawsuit.