Railroads are hazardous places to work. Every day, employees face derailments, being struck by trains, poorly maintained equipment, and slip-and-fall injuries. Workers for major railroads like Union Pacific, CSX, and Norfolk Southern also face a quieter, slower danger: routine exposure to toxic chemicals and substances that can cause permanent harm to their health. Not long ago, asbestos was the chief […]
Toxic Chemical Exposure on the Railroad
Cumulative Trauma FELA Claims: How We Evaluate Them
Not every railroad injury happens in a single moment. Years of repetitive, physically demanding work can wear down a worker’s body gradually, producing serious injuries to the back, shoulders, knees, and other joints long before any one incident. These are called cumulative trauma injuries, and they are covered under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act just as a sudden accident is. […]
Parkinson’s Disease and Railroad Work: The Hidden Chemical Link
Railroad workers face a considerably higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than the general population. This risk stems from decades of frequent exposure to chemicals linked to the disease, including welding fumes, chlorinated solvents, and herbicides. Like many occupational illnesses, Parkinson’s rarely appears until years after the exposure that caused it, which can make the connection easy to miss. A […]
Injured by a Defective Handbrake: What Railroad Workers Need to Know
Railroad workers who get hurt operating a handbrake often come to us with two questions. Does the FELA cover me? And do I still have a case if the railroad inspected the brake afterward and it worked fine? The United States Supreme Court and decades of legal precedent have settled these questions, and they favor injured workers more than most […]