Common Themes of Railroad Negligence in FELA Claims

As discussed in previous issues, the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) protects railroad workers by holding employers accountable for injuries caused by unsafe working conditions. But under the FELA, unlike state workers’ compensation laws, a railroad worker must prove that his/her injury was caused by the employer’s negligence in order to recover any compensation. Without negligence, there is no compensation.

For that reason, the first step in evaluating whether an injured railroad worker has a viable FELA claim is determining how the railroad was negligent, if at all, in causing the injury. This article highlights many of the common “themes” of railroad negligence that our office identifies when investigating potential claims on behalf of injured workers. It is our hope that this list will help you understand what to look out for and empower each of you to investigate, report, and begin gathering proof of the railroad’s negligence immediately following an injury incident:

• Unsafe walking conditions: Look out for conditions like oversized ballast in a yard; uneven or rutted walkways; poor drainage or muddy ground conditions; oil or other slippery substances on equipment; and vegetation or debris left in work areas.
• Unsafe equipment: Look out for equipment that does not function as intended, such as a sticky switch or hand brake; bent/broken handholds or sill steps; and unsecured or wobbly locomotive seats.
• Unsafe work methods: Look out for work methods that needlessly increase the risk of injury, such as getting on/off moving equipment; ask yourself if there is a safer way that the railroad could have trained you to complete the job.
• Unsafe track conditions: These conditions could be caused by inadequate inspection frequency, including special inspections after severe weather; poor maintenance; shallow ballast around cross ties; inadequate or obstructed drainage; sudden temperature changes; or deviations from track engineering standards.
• Overgrown vegetation or other environmental hazards: Look out for tall grass that impairs sight lines; vegetation that interferes with trackside duties; standing water in or near work areas; and old trees that are growing or leaning toward tracks.
• Inadequate tools: Look out for tools that the railroad failed to provide; ask yourself whether there is a tool that would have made a manual job task less strenuous, such as a brake stick, knuckle mate, or portable jack.
• Inadequate overhead lighting: Handheld lanterns are not a substitute for good overhead lighting in rail yards and at crew change points.
• Inadequate assistance or rest: Failure to provide enough qualified and well-rested workers to ensure that inspection, maintenance, and other work tasks can be accomplished safely and effectively can constitute negligence.
• Inadequate supervision: Look out for supervisors who instruct workers to cut corners; push workers to complete inspections too quickly; and turn a blind eye to rule violations and potentially unsafe practices—especially where this is done to increase the speed of operations.
• Negligence of others under the railroad’s control: Under the FELA, railroad employers have a non-delegable duty to provide a reasonably safe workplace, which means they are liable for an injury, even if it is caused by the negligence of fellow railroad workers and certain third parties, like a contracted crew hauler, industry customer, or railroad-provided hotel.
• Violations of railroad safety laws: There are many railroad safety laws, which are too numerous to recount here in any detail. But generally, these are statutes and regulations that contain requirements applicable to locomotives/railcars, track structures, trackside vegetation, grade crossings, and certain aspects of railroad operations and communications. An experienced railroad injury attorney is your best resource to help identify whether and how a railroad safety law was violated.

Although this list contains many of the common themes of negligence we see in handling FELA claims, it is by no means exhaustive. Just because your injury incident does not fall into one of the themes listed above, it does not mean you are without a FELA claim. If you or someone who you know experiences a workplace injury, contact Schlichter Bogard’s railroad injury attorneys as soon as possible. Our experienced attorneys will determine whether you have a claim, identify how the railroad was negligent in causing the injury, and help you avoid potential pitfalls often encountered by unrepresented individuals during the claims process.