When most people get hurt on the job in this country, they file a workers’ compensation claim. The system is straightforward, more or less. The worker gets medical care and a portion of their lost wages, the employer’s insurance pays the bill, and the question of who was at fault rarely comes up. It isn’t perfect, but it works for […]
FELA vs. Workers’ Compensation: What’s the Difference for Injured Railroad Workers?
The Cancers Railroad Workers Are Most at Risk For
Railroad work has always been physically demanding, but for generations, the most dangerous part of the job wasn’t the heavy lifting or the moving of equipment. It was the air. Workers spent decades breathing diesel exhaust, handling asbestos-lined components, scraping benzene-based solvents, and walking around creosote-treated ties without knowing what those exposures were doing inside their bodies. The illnesses they […]
What the Federal Rule of Two-Person Train Crews Means for Railroad Safety
For decades, the question of how many people belong in a locomotive cab has been one of the most contested issues in the railroad industry. Workers and unions have argued that two crew members are essential for safe operations. Railroad companies have pushed in the other direction, citing automation, technology, and cost savings as reasons to operate with a single […]
Do You Need an Accident Report to File a FELA Claim?
Railroad work is dangerous, and injuries happen fast. In the chaos that follows a workplace accident, filing an incident report isn’t always the first thing on a hurt worker’s mind. Sometimes the injury doesn’t seem serious at the moment. Sometimes a supervisor brushes it off. Sometimes the pain doesn’t really set in until hours or days later, after the shift […]
Four Common Questions Railroad Workers Have About FELA
Railroad work is genuinely dangerous. Tracks, heavy equipment, moving trains, long shifts, and exposure to diesel fumes and toxic chemicals are all part of the job for many workers. When something goes wrong and a railroad employee gets hurt, the path to compensation looks nothing like what most workers in other industries experience. There is no state workers’ compensation system […]
What to Do After a Railroad Yard Injury
Railroad yard work is demanding, physical, and genuinely dangerous. Switching and coupling accidents happen in seconds, and the injuries they cause, from broken bones to spinal trauma, can alter the course of your life. If you’ve been hurt on the job, the steps you take in the hours and days that follow matter more than most people realize. Your Rights […]
How Pre-Existing Injuries Are Treated in a FELA Claim
Railroad work is hard on the body. Years of heavy lifting, repetitive motion, exposure to vibration, and physical strain add up. Most railroad workers who file FELA claims have some history of prior injuries or conditions, and insurance adjusters know it. They’ll use that history against you if they can. But a pre-existing condition doesn’t mean you lose your case. […]
How Railroads Fight Back: Legal Tactics Injured Workers Face in FELA Claims
When a jury awards an injured railroad worker millions of dollars, that’s not always the end of the story. Not by a long shot. Railroads have deep pockets, experienced legal teams, and a well-practiced playbook for challenging verdicts they don’t like. One example involved Norfolk Southern’s defense attorneys seeking a new trial after a West Virginia jury awarded an injured […]
FELA Rights as an Injured Railroad Worker
Most workers who get hurt on the job think about workers’ compensation first. File a claim, get your medical bills covered, receive a portion of your lost wages, and move forward. It’s a no-fault system — straightforward, if limited. Railroad workers don’t have that system. Instead, they’re covered by the Federal Employers Liability Act, or FELA, a federal law enacted […]
Fatigue on the Rails: How Sleep Deprivation Puts Railroad Workers at Risk
Railroad work doesn’t follow a 9-to-5 schedule. Trains run around the clock, across time zones, in every kind of weather. For the engineers, conductors, brakemen, and trackmen who keep those operations moving, the demands can be relentless. Irregular shifts. Extended hours. Unpredictable call times. Sleep schedules that get pushed, pulled, and compressed until there’s nothing left to give. That kind […]