FELA Overview
Deriving from the U.S. government’s Constitutional authority over interstate commerce, the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) was enacted by Congress in 1908 in response to the high rate of injuries among railroad workers in the wake of the tremendous expansion that took place in the decades following the Civil War.
Over a three decade period starting in 1889, the rate of injuries among railroad personnel increased by 500 percent. In that year, President Benjamin Harrison, in an address to Congress, said, “It is a reproach to our civilization that any class of American workmen, should in the pursuit of a necessary and useful vocation, be subjected to a peril of life and limb as great as that of a soldier in time of war.” It still took 20 more years and a legal battle that went to the Supreme Court before FELA became federal law.
Although the law has been amended several times over the 20th Century, it still allows railroad employees who suffer work-related injuries to hold their employers accountable — provided they can prove that the railroad was responsible.
FELA vs. Workers Compensation
Like individual state Workers Compensation programs, FELA provides a way for railroad workers who are injured on the job to receive compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and any disability that results from the injury. Beyond this however, there are a number of differences.
Whereas an injured employee who files a Workers Compensation claim need only demonstrate that he or she was injured on the job, a railroad employee bringing a FELA claim must prove that his/her injury was the result of negligence on part of the railroad company.
Recovery in a FELA case is based on comparative negligence: in other words, it may be determined that the railroad was only 50 percent responsible for the injury, with the remaining 50 percent of liability being assigned to the claimant.
On the other hand, the recovery in a FELA claim can be much more generous than one made on a state Workers Compensation. In addition to medical expenses and loss of income, claimants can recover compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of earning ability and partial or full disability.
Injuries Covered Under FELA
Workers may make FELA claims for traumatic injuries (such as bone fractures, torn ligaments), repetitive motion injuries (i.e., carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis) and occupational diseases, including asbestosis, loss of hearing or sight, and certain kinds of cancer. Anything that exacerbates a pre-existing condition can also be basis for a FELA claim.
Why You Should Have Legal Representation
Railroad companies are like any huge corporation, with many different departments and thousands of employees in supervisory capacities. Because of this, a railroad may be negligent in any number of ways; failure to provide adequate training, lack of effective safety policies, understaffing and inadequate safety equipment are only a few. Because the burden of proof is on the claimant, it is important to have experienced legal representation when filing a FELA claim.
