Despite years of calls for improved railroad safety, railroad workers still do their jobs in conditions that can be genuinely dangerous. Those conditions lead to serious injuries every year, and in the most tragic cases, to deaths. On-duty railroad workers continue to be killed on the job, and thousands more suffer reportable injuries annually. When the worst happens, a grieving family is left not only with their loss but with difficult legal questions. A FELA attorney can help a family understand its rights and pursue the compensation the law allows.
FELA, Not Workers’ Compensation
Whenever a railroad employee is injured or killed, any recovery comes under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, or FELA, which Congress enacted in 1908 to give railroad workers and their families a federal path to compensation.
FELA offers protections similar to the workers’ compensation systems that cover employees in other industries, but one major difference shapes every claim. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system: an injured worker does not have to prove the employer did anything wrong. FELA is fault-based. An injured railroad worker, or the family of a worker who died, must prove that the injury or death was caused by the railroad’s negligence. In exchange for that heavier burden, FELA allows something workers’ compensation does not: the right to sue the railroad for a full range of damages.
Who Can File, and the Deadline That Governs
When a railroad worker dies from on-the-job injuries, the family or the estate’s representative can bring a FELA lawsuit to recover damages. The claim is filed by the personal representative of the deceased worker, often a spouse or close family member, though others can serve in that role.
The deadline is strict. FELA imposes a three-year statute of limitations, measured from the date of injury or death, so contacting a FELA attorney as soon as possible is important. Pinning down the exact start date depends on the type of injury. When a death results from sudden trauma, the three-year date is obvious. When it results from a slow-developing injury, such as an asbestos-related illness, determining when the clock started becomes far more complex, and an attorney can make that determination.
Establishing Negligence and Proving the Claim
The first thing a FELA attorney does is identify the act of negligence or safety violation on the railroad’s part that caused the worker’s death. Once the railroad’s liability is established, the next step is determining what compensation the family can pursue.
FELA allows survivors to recover financial compensation for several categories of loss:
- The medical, funeral, and burial expenses the family incurred as a result of the death
- The pecuniary, or financial, losses the family will suffer going forward, including the lost future wages, benefits, and services the worker would have provided had they survived
- The conscious pain and suffering the worker experienced from their injuries before death, including the psychological suffering of facing impending death
That second category is broader than many families realize. The services a worker provided have real monetary value, and a FELA wrongful death claim can account for things like childcare, household duties such as home maintenance and landscaping, and other contributions the family will now have to pay someone else to perform.
An Important Limit on FELA Recovery
FELA limits recovery to pecuniary losses. It does not permit recovery for grief, loss of consortium, or loss of companionship suffered by a surviving spouse or close family members. However painful those losses are, FELA focuses on the financial support and services the worker would have provided, not the emotional toll of the loss itself. This is another reason experienced counsel matters, because fully documenting pecuniary losses, including the value of a worker’s services, is where these claims establish their real value.
Be Cautious of a Quick Settlement Offer
In many cases involving the death of a railroad worker, the railroad will reach out to the family to offer a fast settlement. These early offers are usually far below what the family could recover with the help of an experienced attorney. The railroad knows that a grieving family is vulnerable and that a quick, low settlement protects its bottom line. Families should never sign or agree to any settlement without first consulting a FELA attorney who can evaluate what the claim is truly worth.
Why Experience Matters
Railroads defend these cases with substantial resources, and proving both negligence and the full scope of a family’s pecuniary losses takes real work. Our attorneys bring more than 100 years of combined legal experience to railroad injury and death claims, and that depth has produced significant results, including an $8.6 million jury verdict for a railroad worker, with the jury’s findings later affirmed by the state’s highest court. Results depend on the facts of each case, but outcomes like that reflect the effort these claims demand.
Lost a Loved One in a Railroad Accident? Contact Us Today
If your loved one was killed in a railroad accident, a FELA attorney at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can investigate the cause, establish the railroad’s liability, and pursue the full compensation your family deserves. 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 your family.