Railroad whistleblower awarded $1.25 million

Mike Elliott was a locomotive engineer for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and worked in the Tacoma Terminal Freight House. He said he brought concerns to BNSF about the safety of the tracks between Tacoma and Vancouver in 2011.

"We're the last line of defense," said Elliott on Thursday morning.

One of the biggest concerns was the signals that tell train engineers to stop. Instead of a clear red, yellow, green, employees complained the signals would "rainbow", or switch between all three colors.

Instead of the company taking him seriously, ;Elliott says he faced retaliation and was fired.

"Get rid of me, I'm the whistleblower they didn't want me around," said Elliott.

Elliott took his whistleblower complaints to the Federal Railroad Administration. The FRA did a walking inspection of 133 miles of track from Tacoma to Vancouver.

The FRA identified 245 track, switch and turnout defects and 112 signal system defects. The defects identified by the Federal Railroad Administration were reported to BNSF for correction in 2011.

Elliott sued BNSF in United States District Court, and on Tuesday, he won. Jurors awarded him $1.25 million, including $250,000 in punitive damages.

"You don't have to be in fear of reporting something. It's a huge win for safety in Washington state," said Elliott.

Burlington Northern issued a statement in response to the verdict.

"BNSF is proud of its safety culture, and retaliation against safety complaints is contrary to how we operate and the training our people receive," wrote Gus Melonas, BNSF spokesman. "The plaintiff was dismissed for unrelated rules violations, and his dismissal was upheld by the National Railroad Adjustment Board."

BNSF is exploring its post-trial options.

KIRO