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 the vast majority of injured workers.
Railroad workers aren’t covered by that system. If you work for a railroad and get hurt at work, your claim goes through a different law entirely, the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). The differences between the two systems are significant, and they affect everything from how you prove your case to what you can actually recover.
At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, our Virginia FELA lawyers have spent more than four decades explaining these differences to injured railroaders who didn’t realize their case wouldn’t look anything like a friend or family member’s workers’ comp claim. A FELA lawyer who handles railroad cases day in and day out understands what the law requires, what the railroads will fight, and what’s actually on the table for an injured worker.
If you’re hurt and trying to figure out what to do, understanding the basic differences is the first step.
Why Railroad Workers Were Carved Out
Railroad work was the most dangerous job in America during the late 1800s. Trains were unsafe, equipment failed often, and workers were killed or maimed at staggering rates. When workers tried to sue the railroads for negligence, the companies hid behind legal doctrines that made it nearly impossible to win. By 1908, Congress had seen enough. It passed FELA to give railroad workers a federal right to sue their employers when negligence caused an injury.
Workers’ compensation systems didn’t exist in most states yet. By the time those state-based programs developed in the 1910s and 1920s, railroad workers were already covered under FELA, and the federal law preempted state workers’ comp for railroaders. That’s still the case today. State workers’ comp doesn’t apply to railroad employees engaged in interstate commerce. FELA does.
Fault Is the Big One
The most important difference between the two systems comes down to fault.
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. If you get hurt at work, it doesn’t matter whether you caused the accident, your employer caused it, or it was nobody’s fault at all. You’re entitled to benefits either way. The tradeoff is that you give up the right to sue your employer for negligence in most cases, and the benefits you receive are usually limited.
FELA is a fault-based system. To recover, the injured worker must prove that the railroad was negligent and that the negligence contributed to the injury. The good news is that the standard of proof is intentionally low. The U.S. Supreme Court has described the FELA causation standard as “as broad as could be framed.” Even if the railroad’s negligence played only the slightest part in causing your injury, you can recover. That’s a much lower bar than a typical personal injury case, but it’s still a bar. You have to show the railroad did something wrong.
What You Can Recover
This is where FELA pulls ahead of workers’ comp by a significant margin.
Workers’ compensation typically covers:
- Medical expenses related to the injury
- A portion of lost wages, usually around two-thirds, up to a state-set cap
- Limited permanent disability benefits
- Vocational rehabilitation in some cases
It does not cover pain and suffering. It does not cover loss of enjoyment of life. It rarely covers the full value of future lost earnings, especially for higher-earning workers, because of state benefit caps.
FELA allows an injured worker to recover the full range of damages a jury or settlement can award, including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future lost wages, with no statutory cap
- Lost earning capacity over the worker’s remaining career
- Past and future pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement
- The value of any lost limb or organ
For a worker with a serious injury that ends their railroad career, the difference between what FELA can recover and what workers’ comp would pay can be hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes millions.
Comparative Negligence Cuts Both Ways
FELA uses a pure comparative negligence rule. If a jury or settlement finds the worker was partly responsible for their own injury, the award gets reduced by that percentage. If the railroad was 80 percent at fault and the worker was 20 percent at fault, the worker recovers 80 percent of the damages. Unlike Virginia’s general personal injury law, which bars any recovery if the injured person is even one percent at fault, FELA always allows partial recovery as long as the railroad bears some share of the blame.
There’s one important exception. If the railroad violated a federal safety statute like the Locomotive Inspection Act or the Safety Appliance Act, comparative negligence doesn’t apply. The injured worker can recover the full amount regardless of their own conduct. That’s a significant advantage in cases involving defective brakes, faulty handholds, or equipment that didn’t meet federal safety standards.
Where the Claim Gets Decided
A workers’ compensation claim moves through a state administrative process. There’s paperwork, an investigation, sometimes a hearing before an administrative judge, and an appeals process if the claim is denied. The system is designed to handle high volume and resolve cases quickly. Most workers’ comp claims never see the inside of a courtroom.
A FELA claim is a civil lawsuit. It can be filed in state or federal court, and the injured worker has the right to have a jury decide the case. Many FELA claims settle before trial, but the trial right is meaningful because the railroad knows it could face an unpredictable jury verdict if it pushes too hard. That leverage doesn’t exist in workers’ comp.
The Timeline and the Statute of Limitations
Workers’ compensation generally requires the injured worker to report the injury within a short window, often 30 days, and file a formal claim within one or two years, depending on the state. Missing those deadlines can wipe out the claim.
FELA gives injured railroad workers three years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit. For occupational diseases like cancer or lung disease, the three-year clock typically starts when the worker knew or should have known that the illness was connected to railroad work, not when the exposure happened. That distinction matters for diseases that show up decades after retirement.
Why the Railroad Doesn’t Want You to Hire a Lawyer
Workers’ comp insurance carriers handle claims through standard adjuster processes. The benefits are set by formula. There isn’t much room to negotiate.
Railroads handle FELA cases very differently. Every major railroad has a claims department whose job is to settle injuries quickly and cheaply. Claim agents will visit the injured worker in the hospital, sometimes within hours of the accident. They offer fast settlements, request recorded statements, and discourage workers from seeking independent legal advice. Anything the worker says can be used against them later if the case goes to court.
A Firm With Deep FELA Experience
Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp has represented injured railroad workers across the eastern United States since the mid-1980s. The firm’s attorneys have written and co-authored books on railroad injury law that are used as reference texts in law libraries around the country, and have served in leadership positions with the largest national trial lawyer organizations focused on rail worker injuries.
If you’ve been hurt while working for a railroad, contact an experienced FELA lawyer to find out what options may be available to you. FELA claims are more complex than typical workers’ compensation cases, but they also offer significantly more compensation when handled correctly. Our attorneys have helped injured railroad workers recover substantial awards, and will work aggressively to get you the best outcome based on the circumstances of your case.
If you or someone you love was injured working for the railroad, the team at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp is ready to listen. Contact us at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation to discuss your situation. Our firm has offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Norfolk, and Chesapeake, and we represent injured railroad workers across Virginia, North Carolina, and beyond.