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Federal Employers' Liability Act Claims
Federal Employers' Liability Act Claims
Passed by Congress in 1908, the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) allows railroad workers to recover compensation for work-related injuries. The employee must prove that their injury was caused in part, by railroad maintaining an unsafe work environment. In a FELA claim, even when an employee's negligence was also to blame for the accident, the employee may still recover for their injuries.
Congress has repeatedly rejected the railroad industry's congressional appeals to amend, repeal or alter FELA. Historically, Congress has always regarded FELA as both a compensation scheme for railroad workers and an inducement to the railroad industry to promote safe work practices.
Injuries That Are Covered by FELA
FELA covers almost all railroad employees injured at work, even if the employee's job is not in or around trains. FELA also covers a wide variety of injuries an employee might sustain on the job or in a railroad accident. Some of those injuries include:
Bodily injuries
Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases
Repetitive stress and cumulative trauma injuries
Unsafe Work Environment
Railroad workers and their families do not need to prove the railroad was negligent. In FELA cases the railroad is liable if it provided an unsafe work place. The railroad assumes responsibility for its policies, procedures, employees' errors, and equipment failures. Also under FELA cases, the requirement of causation is relaxed in comparison to ordinary negligence cases. The injured worker only needs to prove that the injury was caused in part by the railroad. If the injured employee was negligent, rather than eliminate the entire award, it is reduced by the percentage that the employee's own negligence contributed to his injury. If the railroad violated a "safety rule" then there is no set off, even if the injured worker was part to blame.
Damages in FELA Claims
An experienced Maryland train accident attorney can be extremely helpful to an injured railroad worker. They can help investigate the circumstances leading to the injury, preserve evidence, and obtain internal documents about the accident. An attorney can help an injured employee recover compensation for the following damages, typically payable in a lump sum award:
Wage loss, past and future
Medical expenses not already paid by the railroad and not provided by the railroad's insurance
Pain and suffering, including damages for disfigurement from scarring
Permanent injury
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