Under Federal law in FELA cases, a jury verdict will be set aside only when there is a complete absence of probative facts to support the conclusion reached. ( Meyer v. Penn Central Transportation Co. (1979), 78 Ill. App.3d 110, 115, 397 N.E.2d 60, 63.) We find plaintiff has not met these stringent standards for overturning the jury's verdict for defendant.
Mr. Blackburn, however, cites several cases where state courts applied the "complete absence of probative facts" to a new trial request in a FELA case. In Meyer v. Penn. Cent. Transp. Co., 397 N.E.2d 60, 63-64 (Ill.App. 1979), the court found that review of jury verdicts in state FELA cases is governed by federal law and, citing cases dealing with directed verdicts and JNOV, found that under federal law a jury verdict can be "set aside" only if there is a "complete absence of probative facts" to support the verdict. The court then applied this standard to a new trial request without any further discussion.
A jury verdict in a FELA case will be set aside only when there is a complete absence of probative facts to support the conclusion reached. ( Meyer v. Penn Central Transportation Co. (1979), 78 Ill. App.3d 110, 114-15, 397 N.E.2d 60, 63.) We do not believe that this is such a case.