Jurors determined Norfolk Southern and Amtrak could have prevented the accident by placing warning signs alerting people to the electrified catenary wires, which power locomotives.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel presided over the 11-day trial. Stengel is a former Lancaster County Court judge.

Lancaster attorney Joseph Roda represented Jeffrey Klein and Brett Birdwell, now both 22, during the trial.

“The boys were trespassing, but the law doesn’t give blanket immunity to the landowner,” Roda said Thursday after the trial. “They had no idea there was an uninsulated 12,500-volt wire, which was totally unnecessary to be charged (at that time).

“Both Amtrak and Norfolk Southern knew a lethal danger existed but failed to post any warning signs.”

Klein and Birdwell, who were both 17 at the time of the accident, climbed the Norfolk Southern railroad car parked on Amtrak property Aug. 10, 2002. The pair, both Stroudsburg residents in Lancaster to visit Klein’s mother, had been skateboarding and wanted to see the view from atop the boxcar, according to the lawsuit.

They left their skateboards on the ground and climbed a ladder leading to a catwalk on the roof of the boxcar.

The catenary wire was suspended about 6 feet above the boxcar.

Klein did not touch the wire but was still shocked. Birdwell was burned while trying to help Klein.

Klein suffered second- and third-degree burns over 75 percent of his body, including his left ear, neck, shoulders, arms, left hand, back and groin. He spent months recovering at Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, and is disabled with limited use of his left hand.

Birdwell suffered second-degree burns to 12 percent of his body. He was treated at Crozer-Chester burn center, Upland, and spent a year recovering.

Birdwell is now in the U.S. Army and serving in Afghanistan, and he was unable to attend the trial. He is scheduled to return home in March.

The jury Wednesday watched a video deposition from Birdwell and heard live testimony from Klein about their injuries.

Birdwell and Klein were among about 20 witnesses who testified. The other witnesses were police officers, firefighters, doctors and experts on railroad safety.

Roda told the jury Amtrak and Norfolk Southern have been aware of the dangers of electrified catenary wires since the 1980s. The companies trained their employees about safety measures involving the wires and installed warning signs at various locations.

During the trial, Roda cited a 1971 Federal Railroad Administration report and an internal Amtrak memo from the 1980s which revealed the dangers of catenary wires.

“Electrical current of catenaries is so great that shocks can result without actual contact with wire; warning signs along electrified railroads can reduce accidents; signs should provide both symbolic representation such as a lightning bolt and the warning legend,” the report states.

Roda also told the jurors 29 boxcars were parked on railroad tracks in the 700 block of New Holland Avenue for two days before the mishap.

“The general public was left unprotected,” Roda said Thursday. “It’s a fact that boys are going to climb things, and this was a high-traffic area ... .”

The jury said fault for the mishap was 70 percent Amtrak’s and 30 percent Norfolk Southern’s.

Klein was awarded about $17.3 million and Birdwell about $6.8 million. The amounts include punitive damages and were determined by medical bills and calculating lost future earnings, pain, suffering and loss of life pleasures.

Amtrak and Norfolk Southern can appeal the jury verdict and awards.