Opinion ID: 669894
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Failure to Break Cars and Improper Blocking Claims

Text: In claims (c) and (e) of his complaint, Grade alleges BNSF was negligent in failing to break the railcars once the train was stopped at the crossing, thereby blocking the crossing in violation of a Nebraska regulation that limits the amount of time that a railcar can block a crossing to ten minutes. 415 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 7 § 005.01 (2006). To be successful in a negligence action under Nebraska law, Grade must demonstrate that BNSF owed a duty to him, that BNSF breached its duty, and that the breach was the proximate cause of the accident. Dresser v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 282 Neb. 537, 809 N.W.2d 713, 717-18 (2011). In Nebraska, the violation of a safety regulation, established by a statute or ordinance, is not negligence as a matter of law, but is evidence of negligence which may be considered in connection with all the other evidence in the case in deciding the issue. Orduna v. Total Constr. Servs., Inc., 271 Neb. 557, 713 N.W.2d 471, 479 (2006). Assuming arguendo that the Nebraska statute is sufficient to create a duty to refrain from blocking a track in excess of ten minutes and assuming BNSF breached that duty, [a] defendant's negligence is not actionable unless it is a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries. Scott v. Khan, 18 Neb.App. 600, 790 N.W.2d 9, 19 (2010). Under Nebraska negligence law, proximate cause consists of three elements: that (1) but for the negligence, the injury would not have occurred, (2) the injury is the natural and probable result of the negligence, and (3) there is no efficient intervening cause. Heatherly v. Alexander, 421 F.3d 638, 641-42 (8th Cir.2005). The test of causation is not that the particular injury could be anticipated but whether after the occurrence, the injury appears to be the reasonable and probable consequence of the acts or omissions. Meyer v. Nebraska, 264 Neb. 545, 650 N.W.2d 459, 466 (2002) (per curiam). The district court found that Grade's claim failed because Grade could not demonstrate the first two elements of proximate cause. We agree that Grade cannot show that his injuries were the natural and probable result of BNSF's negligence in blocking the crossing in excess of the ten minutes of permitted blocking time. Under Nebraska law, certain injuries are so attenuated from a defendant's breach of duty that they cannot be said to be caused by the defendant's actions. See, e.g., Wilken v. City of Lexington, 16 Neb.App. 817, 754 N.W.2d 616, 624 (2008) (finding it was not a foreseeable consequence of leaving a police car with the keys in the ignition within access of a suspected juvenile delinquent that the juvenile would steal the car and use the weapons inside). We fail to see how the natural and probable consequence of a railroad's permitting a railcar to remain on a crossing longer than the allotted ten minutes is that an automobile will collide with that railcar. As a matter of law, Grade has failed to demonstrate causation and his claim fails. The district court appropriately granted summary judgment based on lack of causation, and we need not reach the issue of whether Grade's claim is preempted by federal law.