Danny Ruark v. Union Pacific Railroad Compan

Rovner, Circuit Judge.

The Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. §§ 51 - 60, was enacted more than a hundred years ago to compensate railroad employees for injuries they receive on the job. Ruark was an employee of the Union Pacific Railroad when a hydraulic rail drill malfunctioned and sprayed him with hot oil. He sought relief under FELA using the legal doctrine of "res ipsa loquitur," a doctrine that asks a finder of fact to infer liability when (as the Latin is often translated) "the thing speaks for itself." Because of the burden-shifting nature of the doctrine, it requires…