BatesCarey partners Matthew M. Murphy and Ellen J. Zabinski discussed emerging issues at the annual meeting of the Railroad Insurance Management Association (RIMA) in Phoenix, Arizona. 

In a panel titled “Claims: A Legal Perspective & Emerging Issues,” Murphy discussed the recent United States Supreme Court opinion Loos v. BNSF Railway which addressed Railroad Retirement taxation of awards for lost wages under the Federal Employers Liability Act. Zabinski focused on millennials’ tendencies while sitting on civil juries and best practices for communicating with them. The panel was chaired by Chuck Burn of Union Pacific and included other attorneys practicing in the fields of railroad claims and related insurance issues. 

RIMA is the trade association comprised of risk managers and other insurance specialists of major North American freight railroads plus certain passenger carriers such as Amtrak and regional rail transit agencies. RIMA’s annual meeting is a gathering to discuss topics of common interests to railroads as policyholders, insurance industry representatives such as brokers and underwriters and legal counsel.