Strasburg v. Union Pacific RR. Co., 286 Neb. 743

Strasburg sued Union Pacific under FELA for workplace injuries and also sued Steelcase; Robin Strasburg sued Steelcase for loss of consortium.
A jury awarded Strasburg $1,032,375.43; no special verdict form was requested.
Strasburg and Robin settled with Steelcase for $725,000, allocated $425,000 to Strasburg and $300,000 to Robin.
Union Pacific sought a medical lien against the Steelcase settlement and a setoff for medical expenses paid.
District court enforced Union Pacific’s lien for the amount paid but denied a further setoff of the writeoff amount and did not modify the Steelcase allocation.
Court of appeals affirmed, ruling proper setoffs and allocations absent error or abuse of discretion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the writeoff amount is a valid setoff under 45 U.S.C. § 55.	Strasburg (plaintiff) argues no writeoff amount should be set off.	Union Pacific argues the writeoff amount is an indemnity paid to Strasburg and thus قابل for setoff.	No; writeoff not eligible for setoff under § 55.
Whether the district court properly set off the Steelcase settlement against the verdict.	Strasburg contends the allocation was reasonable and should be honored; no additional offset.	Union Pacific argues dollar-for-dollar offset for the non-FELA defendant’s settlement should apply.	Appellate review found no abuse of discretion; district court’s allocation reasonable and offset affirmed.

Countryside Co-op v. Harry A. Koch Co., 280 Neb. 795, 790 N.W.2d 873 (2010) (collateral source rule and 45 U.S.C. § 55 interpretation)
Folkestad v. Burlington Northern, Inc., 813 F.2d 1377 (9th Cir. 1987) (interpretation of § 55 setoff scope)
Blake v. Delaware and Hudson Railway Company, 484 F.2d 204 (2d Cir. 1973) (§ 55 setoff principles)
Schadel v. Iowa Interstate R.R., Ltd., 381 F.3d 671 (7th Cir. 2004) (FELA settlement offset rules)
Dixon v. CSX Transp., Inc., 990 F.2d 1440 (4th Cir. 1993) (offsets for settlements in FELA actions)