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 people assume. A Norfolk railroad injury lawyer can explain how these rules apply to your situation.
Two Laws May Apply
An injury suffered while operating a handbrake is covered by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, found at 45 U.S.C. § 51 and the sections that follow. If the rail car was “in use” at the time, the injury is also covered by the Safety Appliance Act, at 49 U.S.C. § 20302. In this context, “in use” means roughly the same thing as “in transit,” that is, a car in service on the line rather than one set out for repairs or inspection. The Supreme Court drew this distinction long ago in Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Co. v. Goneau, 269 U.S. 406 (1926).
Which law governs makes a huge difference in what an injured worker must prove.
When the FELA Alone Applies
If the car was not “in use,” the FELA is the governing law, and the worker carries a heavier burden. Under the FELA, an injured employee must show that the railroad was negligent in how it maintained, repaired, or inspected the handbrake. The worker must also show that the railroad knew, or should have known, that the brake was defective before the injury happened.
The FELA also allows the railroad to reduce its responsibility based on the worker’s own conduct. If a court or jury concludes the injured employee was partly responsible for the injury, the recovery is reduced in proportion to that share of fault. For example, if the worker is found 50 percent responsible, the award is cut in half.
When the Safety Appliance Act Applies
If the car was “in use” at the time of the injury, the worker’s path is far simpler. The employee only has to show that the brake failed to operate as intended, that it was “inefficient,” at the moment of the injury. Negligence does not enter into it.
The landmark handbrake case is Myers v. Reading Co., 331 U.S. 477 (1947). There, the Supreme Court explained that proving a railroad’s responsibility under the Safety Appliance Act is much simpler than under the FELA. As the Court put it, the Safety Appliance Act simplifies the issue beyond that of an ordinary FELA case in which the plaintiff must establish the employer’s negligence. Under the SAA, the plaintiff need not prove negligence. A railroad may be held liable if the jury can reasonably infer from the evidence that the handbrake which caused the injury was on a car the railroad was using on its line, in interstate commerce, and that the brake was not an efficient handbrake. The duty to provide efficient handbrakes is absolute, and no amount of care excuses a violation.
There is one more advantage. Because liability rests on a safety-statute violation rather than negligence, the comparative-negligence reduction that applies in an ordinary FELA case does not apply here. The worker’s own conduct cannot reduce recovery.
A Later Inspection Showing No Defect Does Not End Your Case
An injured employee can establish a defective handbrake through their own testimony, even when a later inspection reveals no defect. Proof that the brake worked before and after the incident does not answer the claim. The question is whether it worked when it was used.
The Myers court recognized two accepted methods of proving an inefficient handbrake. The first is proof of a specific defect revealed on inspection. The second is the worker’s testimony that the brake was used in the normal and usual manner and failed to work efficiently. Under Myers, if an employee operates a handbrake in the usual way and is injured when it fails to perform as intended, that testimony alone is enough to establish a Safety Appliance Act violation for a jury or court to consider. Inspecting the equipment afterward is not the only way to prove a violation.
Steps to Take If a Handbrake Injures You
If you are hurt operating a handbrake, a few practical steps can protect a potential claim:
- Get the number of the car so it can be identified and its repair history obtained later if needed
- Report your injury to your coworkers and the railroad as soon as practical
- Get prompt and appropriate medical care
- Record or memorialize exactly what you did, including the position of your hands and feet during the operation, the location of the handbrake on the car, and the height and size of any brake platform
- Rely on your own knowledge of how the handbrake was supposed to operate in deciding whether a claim may exist
Because your own account of what happened can establish a Safety Appliance Act violation, preserving those details early is valuable.
Why Experience Matters
Handbrake cases turn on fine distinctions, whether the car was “in use,” whether the brake was “inefficient,” and which law governs, and railroads defend them aggressively. An experienced attorney knows how to frame the claim under the Safety Appliance Act where the facts allow, which can transform a difficult negligence case into a far stronger one.
Our attorneys bring more than 100 years of combined legal experience to railroad injury claims, and that experience has produced significant results, including an $8.6 million jury verdict for a railroad worker, with the state’s highest court later affirming the jury’s findings. Results depend on the facts of each case, but outcomes like that reflect the effort these claims require.
Injured Operating a Handbrake? Contact Us Today
If you were injured operating a railroad handbrake, do not assume a later inspection showing no defect means you have no case. A Norfolk railroad injury lawyer at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can review what happened, determine whether the Safety Appliance Act applies, and pursue the full compensation you deserve. Contact us at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation. We have offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Norfolk, and Chesapeake, and we are ready to put our decades of railroad injury experience to work for you and your family.