Can Injured Railroad Workers Claim for Compensation?

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Injured railroad workers can claim for compensation under the Federal Employer's Liability Act. Before workers’ compensation came into effect in the United States, Congress felt the need to protect railroad workers who had been injured. The Federal Employer's Liability Act which is also known as ‘FELA’ helps railroad workers to claim compensation for injuries that they have sustained while they were at work.

FELA and Workers’ Compensation


FELA and workers’ compensation are fairly similar in that they have both been created to compensate workers who have been injured. However, there are no more similarities between them.
When an injured worker files a workers’ compensation claim they do not need to prove that their employer caused the injury or acted in a negligent manner. The injured person simply needs to show that the injury took place while they were at work.
When an injured railroad worker files a FELA claim they need to prove that their employer was negligent and that the injury was caused by their negligence. This makes the FELA claim a lot harder to deal with, but it is not impossible.

The Types of Damages that can be Recovered
The types of damages that can be recovered in a FELA claim outshine those which can be recovered from a workers’ compensation claim. In a FELA claim railroad workers can receive:
Compensation for pain and suffering
Compensation for emotional and mental suffering
Loss of earnings due to the injury
Medical expenses
Future loss of earnings due to the injury
Future medical expenses
Full or partial permanent disability
Loss of earning capacity

Bringing the Claim to Court
An injured railroad work can bring their case to any federal or state court under FELA. If they were to claim workers’ compensation they would only be able to bring the claim to a state industrial or workers’ compensation court.

FELA and Railroad Workers Injuries
FELA typically covers the following types of injuries:

Tendinitis or carpal tunnel injuries that have been caused by repetitive motion
Broken bones, joint sprains, and pulled muscles
The aggravation of any pre-existing conditions. However, the claim may only be successful if the injury sustained has made the condition worse or is found to have accelerated it
Lung cancer, hearing loss, or asbestoses

Proving that the Employer was Negligent
An injured railroad worker will have to prove that the employer (The railroad) was negligent and caused the injury or played a role that caused it.
Due to the size of the railroad, its complexity and the large number of people it employs, it is possible for the railroad to be found negligent in a variety of ways. However, injuries tend to be caused by:
Failure to train employees adequately
Failure to maintain workplace safety rules (Assuming those rules are sufficient in the first place)
Failure to provide adequate tools and equipment
Failure to provide enough manpower

If you think you were Partly Responsible for your Accident
If you think you were partly responsible for your accident due to your own negligence you don’t have to refrain from claiming for compensation under FELA. You should be aware that the court will take your negligence into consideration when deciding upon how much compensation you should receive.
If, for example, you were found to be 50% at fault for your accident the court may reduce your compensation by 50%. This means that if you should have received $10,000 for your injury you will only receive $5,000 which is 50% of the compensation.

FELA Claim Limitations
One of the limitations associated with bring a FELA claim is the statute of limitations. You must start your claim/lawsuit within 3 years from the date you were injured. So, if you were injured on December 12, 2017, you will have until December 12, 2020, to start your claim.
If you do not make a claim/file a lawsuit within 3 years it is likely that the court will bar your claim and you will not recover any compensation.
However, deciding when the statute of limitations starts can prove to be quite difficult. If you developed cancer, for example, as a result of working near asbestos, it could be hard to work out when the exact date of injury was. The date that the statute of limitations begins is usually:
When you knew that you had been injured in a work-related accident
When you should have known that you were injured in a work-related accident

If you think you may be entitled to make a FELA claim please speak to a lawyer as soon as you can.

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