John Coyle

Trial Experience Representing Railroad Workers

John Coyle is a partner and lead trial attorney at McEldrew Purtell, which represents railroad workers injured on the job. His railroad practice includes claims under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) involving serious injuries, unsafe working conditions, inadequate equipment, electrical hazards, and other allegations of railroad negligence.

John has spent more than a decade as a trial lawyer. In railroad cases, he focuses on identifying how an injury occurred, what the railroad knew before the incident, whether workers were provided with reasonably safe equipment and working conditions, and how the injury will affect the employee’s career and future.

Building FELA Cases for Trial

Railroad injury claims often turn on evidence that goes well beyond the initial accident report. Work practices, equipment, prior incidents, witness testimony, maintenance records, safety procedures, medical evidence, and the railroad’s knowledge of a hazard can all become important parts of a case.

John approaches FELA claims with trial in mind from the beginning. That means developing the evidence necessary to establish the railroad’s role in the injury while documenting the full effect the injury has had on the worker’s health, career, earning capacity, and daily life.

His trial experience is particularly important when a railroad denies responsibility, disputes the severity of an injury, or attempts to shift responsibility onto the injured employee.

FELA Verdict & Settlement Experience

John has obtained significant results for injured railroad workers.

In one FELA case, John secured a $1.6 million jury verdict for a SEPTA conductor who suffered a serious electrical shock while working. SEPTA denied responsibility for the conductor’s injuries despite evidence that the transit authority had been aware of electrical shocks occurring at its stations years before his injury. The case proceeded to trial without a settlement offer, and a Philadelphia jury returned a verdict for the injured conductor.

John also obtained an $885,000 FELA settlement for a union railroad worker who was seriously injured while loading railroad ties. The worker and a coworker had been directed to manually move the ties onto a flatbed truck without appropriate equipment, and one of the ties slipped, causing the injury.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its specific facts and legal circumstances.

Experience With Railroad Safety and Employer Responsibility

Under FELA, railroad injury cases often require a close examination of the conditions employees were expected to work under before an injury occurred.

John’s railroad cases have involved issues such as unsafe work practices, inadequate tools or equipment, known workplace hazards, electrical dangers, and failures to provide workers with reasonably safe conditions in which to perform their jobs.

His work focuses not only on what happened at the moment of an injury, but also on the decisions, practices, and conditions that led to it.

Advocate for Railroad Workers

A serious railroad injury can affect an employee long after the initial medical treatment ends. Some workers are unable to return to their previous craft or job duties. Others face permanent physical limitations, lost earnings, ongoing treatment, or uncertainty about whether they can continue their railroad careers.

John works with injured railroad employees to document those consequences and build cases that address both the immediate injury and its long-term impact.

He is also a member of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys, an organization whose members represent the interests of railroad employees.

Learn More About John Coyle

This page focuses specifically on John’s experience representing railroad workers and handling FELA litigation.

For his complete professional background, education, bar admissions, broader litigation experience, professional recognition, and additional case results, view John Coyle’s full biography on the McEldrew Purtell website.