A case of alleged employment liability originally framed as the fault of a handful of workers shifted midtrial to an attack on the company as a whole when the plaintiff’s attorneys found that two witnesses had misrepresented a safety protocol during depositions. The last-minute change in strategy earned the plaintiff a $21 million jury verdict, and saddled his employer, Conrail Inc., with a 97.75% liability finding for the injury.

The Philadelphia jury handed down the verdict March 17 after a nine-day trial.