The Ohio Supreme Court on 9/15/99 affirmed a jury’s punitive damages award of $15,000,000 against Conrail for negligence in not preventing automobiles from driving around the flashing lights and lowered gates at a railroad grade crossing. One car, whose driver had a blood alcohol level of .039, was struck by a passing train, killing the driver and her passenger.The Ohio court rejected NAM arguments that the punitive damages were far in excess of a constitutionally acceptable limit. Ohio does not allow punitive damages for wrongful death, so the size of the award was related to the property damage (the car). The Ohio court saw "the ratio between the compensatory and punitive damages as less relevant here because of the egregiousness of the act." Thus, if an injury to property can be expected to be "catastrophic," an Ohio court will not find a multiplier of 6,250 times actual damages to be excessive.
The court used these factors to judge such cases: "[a] substantial harm, a continuing risk, a deterrent effect, and an economically viable company . . . ."