Keith Jones was driving a fertilizer spreader across a railroad crossing on Locust Grove Road on Nov. 1, 2003, when the train hit the rear of the vehicle.

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Jones suffered a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, broken bones and other injuries. He never fully recovered. A damaged portion of his brain was later removed, and Jones has spent the last few years re-learning the basics, such as how to eat. He continues to battle emotional outbursts and is never expected to be able to work again.

His wife, Teresa Jones, filed a lawsuit against Illinois Central Railroad in U.S. District Court in Memphis, seeking reimbursement for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. She also requested punitive damages, saying the railroad knew that crossing was ultra hazardous and should have removed trees obscuring the view of approaching trains.

On Tuesday, a stunned Teresa Jones left the federal building in Memphis with nothing.

By declaring Keith Jones 50 percent responsible for the collision, the jury precluded the possibility of any monetary payments. The Jones family would be eligible for payments only if Keith Jones were declared 49 percent -- or less -- at fault.

The Jones' attorneys, Pamela R. O'Dwyer and John Chandler of Chattanooga, said they aren't likely to file an appeal.

"It was a rough trial, but as far as legal errors, we don't see any legal errors at this point," O'Dwyer said. Appeals must be based on a legal error.

Chandler and Stephanie Reifers, a Memphis attorney representing the railroad, met with the eight jurors after the verdict. Chandler told Jones that some of the jurors believed the railroad was 100 percent at fault, others believed Jones was 100 percent at fault and the rest thought both were to blame. In the end, the jurors decided to split the difference and assign half of the blame to each side.

The ruling ended a trial that began more than two weeks ago and threatened to continue on into the Independence Day weekend. The jury deliberated 3.5 hours, stopping once to ask for an itemized list of damages suggested by the Joneses and the railroad. U.S. District Judge Bernice B. Donald informed jurors that no such lists had been admitted into evidence.

Chandler had estimated during his closing argument that Keith Jones should receive $923,633.22 for past medical expenses; $2.1 million for future medical care and services; $1 million for permanent impairment; $2.1 million for past and future pain and suffering; $100,000 for disfigurement; $4.25 million for past and future loss of ability to enjoy life, and $831,295 in past and future loss of earning capacity. He suggested Teresa Jones should receive $5 million for loss of consortium and $357,233 in past and future losses in earning capacity since she quit her job to take care of her husband. Since arguments made during the closing statements are not considered evidence, the jury was not given a copy of Chandler's suggestion.

Reifers and her co-counsel, Charles J. Swartwout of Belleville, Ill., did not suggest any amount of damages. Reifers said Jones failed to obey the highway signs. She referred to the round yellow sign with a black X and "R's" on either side, warning that railroad tracks were ahead. She said state law requires motorists to stop at least 15 feet from the tracks when an approaching train blows its whistle and is visible.

Chandler argued that Jones couldn't have heard the train whistle because of loud motor and loud wheel noise made by the farm equipment he was driving. Furthermore, Chandler said, Jones couldn't have seen the train because the view of the tracks was obscured by a line of trees on the railroad right of way.

Reifers presented a report prepared by one of the witnesses stating that the sight-distance was adequate 21 feet and 50 feet away from the tracks on Locust Grove Road. At 21 feet, a person can see more than 1,300 feet down the tracks, she said. At 50 feet, a person can see 1,130 feet down the tracks. The same report, however, noted that the sight-distance is not adequate at 75 feet, 100 feet, 150 feet, 200 feet and 275 feet from the tracks.

Reifers reminded the jury that witnesses said Jones appeared to slow as he approached the tracks, came to a rolling stop and then suddenly raced forward, presumably at the moment he spotted the approaching train. He failed to clear the tracks and was struck by the mile-long train.

Chandler argued that Jones could not have seen the train -- because of the trees -- until he was nearly on the tracks, and it was too late then.

While instructing the jurors, Judge Donald said it was their responsibility to weigh the witnesses' testimonies and to decide who was telling the truth. One witness, Thomas Grace, reportedly lied on the witness stand when he said he'd spent the previous night with friends in Oakland. Instead, the railroad paid for overnight accommodations in a Memphis hotel two blocks south of the courthouse.

Although it is not illegal for the railroad to accommodate an out-of-town witness for a trial, the fact that Grace perjured himself caused turmoil in the courtroom on Friday.

The turmoil and accusations continued Monday, when Reifers played a message that Grace had left on her telephone at 8:56 p.m. Saturday. Grace claimed O'Dwyer had offered to provide legal assistance with a domestic matter if he would testify on the Joneses' behalf. O'Dwyer vehemently shook her head "no" as she listened to the recording.

Judge Donald said a separate collateral hearing would be held to "get to the bottom of this."