The Federal Employers Liability Act was passed by Congress in 1908 for the purpose of providing compensation and protective rights to railroad employees who are injured on the job. It enables injured employees to bring claims directly against the railroad for damages when it can be shown that the railroad negligently caused the injury or violated a safety statute.

Negligence is defined as the railroad’s failure to do something it should have done, or the railroad's performance of an act it should not have done. Negligence can be established in a variety of ways. These include: failure to provide a safe place to work, failure to provide reasonably suitable and proper tools and equipment for the performance of work, failure to schedule and perform regular inspections and maintenance, failure to service switches, failure to maintain reasonably regular walkways where switching is performed, or the failure to train and assign adequate help for the performance of work.

In addition to these "negligence" theories against a railroad, railroads are liable under the FELA if they violate one of the numerous safety statutes which have been passed for the benefit and safety of railroad workers. These include: the Federal Safety Appliance Act (hand holds, grab irons, ladders, couplers, handbrakes, airbrakes, etc.); the Locomotive Inspection Act (parts and appurtenances of a locomotive); and the Federal Railway Safety Act (utility employees, blue flag protection, etc.), and individual state walkway standards.

The courts have held that the employer's negligence does not have to be the sole cause of the accident. So long as the carrier was at fault in the slightest degree it is negligent enough for the injured worker to establish the right to recover.

As distinguished from state workman's compensation laws, there is no schedule of benefits, whether weekly or otherwise, to which an employee is entitled. Instead there are elements that determine damages. They include past and future lost wages, past and future pain and suffering, the effects of the injury on quality of life, out of pocket expenses - including medical costs, the reasonable value of lost household services, and vocational training costs.

Because the FELA involves bringing a claim directly against the employer, the railroads make every effort to keep the amount they pay out as low as possible. It is crucial that injured railroad employees contact designated legal counsel.

If you are an injured railroad employee, you should contact Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson, Inc. immediately to learn your rights under the FELA.