PIERRE, SD – The South Dakota Supreme Court has upheld a jury’s decision to award $300,000 in damages to a Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad employee who was injured on the job. Donald Jacobs fractured his elbow and hurt his shoulder in January 2007 when he slipped and fell on some snow and ice on DM&E’s rail yard in Huron. The railcar mechanic sued under a federal law that allows employees to seek damages for injuries resulting from a railroad company’s negligence. A jury awarded Jacobs $300,000 for loss of earning capacity because the accident left him unable to lift heavy objects. The Supreme Court notes that DM&E gave Jacobs another job. But the justices say evidence showed Jacobs would likely earn less if he had to get a job outside the company.© 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved.