James Vucinovich

Jim Vucinovich is President and Managing Partner of the Firm, and a nationally-recognized FELA Lawyer with over 30 years of committed representation of injured railroad workers and their families.

From the start of his legal career Jim has focused his practice on the individual, recognizing that it is often the “little guy” who needs the most help in winning settlements and verdicts in personal injury cases. Every client is important and every case is unique and, therefore Jim approaches each and every one of his clients with compassion, honesty and commitment to get the best possible result.

Jim has litigated hundreds of FELA (railroad accidents) and serious personal injury claims including those involving traumatic brain injury, toxic exposure and wrongful death. Jim has also successfully handled accident claims involving drunken drivers, trucking accidents and occupational exposures. Jim handles each case individually and personally to ensure that the client needs come first.

Some of the recent cases Jim has tried to verdict or won in settlement include:

• $1.25M Elliott vs. BNSF Whistleblower Verdict (Seattle, WA)
• $3.4M for below knee amputation
• $6 million settlement for traumatic brain injury in SUV collision
• $1.83 million verdict for a BNSF engineer left with chronic upper extremity pain (Denver, CO)
• $500,000 settlement for a railroad worker with a wrist injury
• $2.6 million settlement for a couple injured in a head-on collision
• $1.5 million settlement for a drunken driver case (Spokane, WA)
• $1.425 million verdict for UP engineer for shoulder injury (Denver, CO)
• $12 million settlement for a serious brain injury case
• $4 million settlement for toxic exposure
• $3.4 million verdict for UP conductor for shoulder and ankle injuries (Los Angeles, CA)
• $1 million verdict for UP conductor for neck injuries (Denver, CO)
• $872,000 verdict for BNSF conductor for shoulder and back injuries (Seattle, WA)

Jim is licensed in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, and Colorado. He is one of the select group of FELA lawyers appointed to serve as DLC “Designated Legal Counsel” for SMART-TD, a major rail labor union in the railroad industry. He has been admitted to multiple federal district courts throughout the Midwest, West and Northwest where he regularly tries lawsuits. He was designated a board-certified trial specialist in 2004 by the Minnesota Trial Association. Jim is AV rated by Martindale-Hubble, the highest rating it awards. He is a board member of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys (ARLA), a professional association open only to attorneys whose practice includes representation of injured railroad employees, and currently serves as President.

Jim is a member of the American Association for Justice and a member of the Traumatic Brain Litigation Group and Interstate Trucking group sections. He is also an Eagle member for the Washington State Association for Justice and a member of the Brain Injury Association of Washington.

Jim graduated from William Mitchell College of Law where he wrote for the Law Review. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He enjoys all types of recreational sports like biking, skiing, and hiking.

Areas of Practice

• 100% Personal Injury

Litigation Percentage

• 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Certified Legal Specialties

• Civil Trial Specialist, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2008

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1986
• U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1986
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1995
• Colorado, 1997
• Washington, 1999
• U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, 2001
• Oregon, 2004

Education

• William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota | J.D. – 1986 | Law Review: Law Review
• St John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota | B.A. cum laude – 1980 | Major: History
• Major: History

Published Works

• The Propriety of An Adverse Vocational Rehabilitation Examination Under Rule 35.01, Minnesota Trial Lawyer, Jul/Aug, 1985

Representative Cases

• ALLENBAUGH V. BNSF RY. CO., 832 F. SUPP. 2D 1260 (E.D. WASH. 2011) (2011)
• HAWORTH V. BURLINGTON NORTHERN & SANTA FE RY., 281 F. SUPP. 2D 1207 (E.D. WASH. 2003) (2003)
• REINSCH V. UPRR, 12 F. SUPP. 2D 1136 (D. COLO. 1998) (1998)

Honors and Awards

• Elected President of ARLA (Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys)
• ARLA Board Member, 2011 – 2014
• SMART-TD Designated Legal Counsel, 2008 – 2014
• BMWED Designated Legal Counsel, 1975 – 2014

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Washington State Bar Association
• American Association for Justice, Member
• American Arbitration Association, Member
• Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association, Member