FELA Fundamentals
In 1907 and 1908, more than 16,000 employees were killed working in the railroad industry. Statistics from this time indicate that the average life expectancy of a switchman employee was seven years, and a brakeman's chance of dying from natural causes was less than one in five. Congress recognized the need to address these alarming statistics and in 1908, enacted the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) with the aim of promoting railroad safety and providing a remedy to railroad employees injured as a result of their employers' negligence. The FELA was designed to put on the railroad industry some of the cost for the legs, eyes, arms and lives which it consumed in its operations. The FELA provides a uniform method for compensating injured railroad workers and their survivors. It is remedial legislation and is to be construed liberally in order to accomplish its humanitarian purpose. The FELA makes a railroad liable in damages to any person suffering injury while he or she is employed by such carrier in such commerce...for such injury or death resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents or employees of the railroad. The FELA provides the exclusive remedy for a railroad employee injured as a result of his or her employer's negligence.
While the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., is a favorable law providing protection for injured railroad employees, it is not an absolute liability law. Even though the FELA was passed to protect the rights of injured railroad employees, the fact that you were injured on the job does not automatically guarantee financial recovery. The injured railroad worker must prove a claim of negligence against the railroad in order to recover compensation. Before you are entitled to recover any compensation for your injuries, you must prove all of the following elements:
1. That, at the time of your injury, you were engaged in activity that furthered the railroad's interstate business. Basically, this includes any activity by a railroad employee during the course of his or her duties. An employee deadheading or traveling by shuttle from one location to another, while on duty, is also covered under the FELA.
2. That your injury occurred while working in the course and scope of your employment with the railroad.
3. That your injury was caused, at least in part, as a result of the railroad's negligence in failing to provide you with a reasonably safe place to work. There are many legal theories of liability that can be pursued to prove the railroad's negligence in a FELA case.
4. That you have sustained damages.
Chicago Railroad Accident Attorneys
O'Brien Chod, LLC, represents injured railroad workers in Illinois and nationwide. Our lawyers offer the following additional FELA information to potential clients:
- What to do after a railroad injury
- FELA statute of limitations
- FELA negligence vs. workers' compensation
- Cumulative trauma injuries
- Occupational exposure injuries
- FELA recoverable damages
- Personal injury reporting
- Railroad safety regulations and statutes
- Railroad tactics
- Mitigation of damages
To learn more about the rights and remedies afforded under the FELA, please call our St. Louis-based FELA attorneys toll free at 877-746-3165 or contact us online for a free, no obligation consultation.
