Railroad Injury FELA

What are Railroad Injury FELA Cases?

The Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) protects railroad workers who are injured on the job by allowing them to seek recovery from their railroad employer for disfigurement, loss of earnings and pain and suffering. As a result of cases handled by Richards Willis PC, this law has been expanded to include not only direct railroad employees, but also non-railroad employees like vendors who are working in rail yards and along rail tracks throughout the nation. Richards Willis PC recovered $3.9 million on behalf of a crane operator not directly employed by the railroad who was injured while assisting the railroad workers in the case Collins v. Union Pacific Railroad. The California Supreme Court upheld the right of the non-railroad worker to be protected by the FELA under the “borrowed servant” doctrine.

The Railroad Injury FELA was enacted in 1908 in response to the thousands of railroad workers who were dying or maimed each year while working on the railroads. The United States Congress gave this extraordinary protection to railroad workers because of their sacrifice and the service that they provided in building this nation. The FELA is NOT a workers compensation system. Those workers who are injured and covered under the Railroad Injury FELA may bring lawsuits against their railroad employer in the Superior Courts of their state and receive jury verdicts for disfigurement, loss of earnings, and pain and suffering. The law requires proof of the railroads negligence but declares that this negligence shall be the cause of injury “if it played any part, no matter how small.”

The FELA requires railroad companies to meet certain standards including:

• Providing a reasonably safe place to work
• Providing employees with safe equipment, tools and safety devices
• Choosing safe methods to carry out work
• Inspecting work place for hazards
• Creating and enforcing safety rules
• Providing necessary training

If you are a railroad worker or a vendor who works on the railroad, you need experienced attorneys who are willing to take your case to trial. Richards Willis PC has a proven track record receiving multi-million dollar verdicts, and changing and improving the law that protects those who put their lives on the line everyday just to do their job. The railroad has a team of private detectives, investigators, and adjusters who start preparing their defense the minute you fill out an Accident Report. Protect your rights now, contact Richards Willis PC.