How Preservation of Evidence Prevents Injustice

The rights of injured railroad workers are governed by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”), which requires railroads to provide a reasonably safe workplace. When a railroader is injured due to the railroad’s negligence, he can pursue a FELA claim. But building a strong FELA case relies heavily on gathering and preserving evidence from the incident scene.

For decades, Schlichter Bogard has represented countless railroad workers injured on the job. We have seen firsthand how critical preserving evidence can be for protecting your rights and receiving the compensation you deserve. Unfortunately, the railroads often fail to preserve crucial evidence after a work-related injury, and, at times, have been caught—even sanctioned by the courts—intentionally destroying evidence.

Because the railroads have repeatedly shown that they cannot be trusted to properly handle important documents when employees are injured in work-related incidents, photographic and video evidence, incident reports, maintenance records, crew statements, and other documents all play a vital role in demonstrating how the railroad failed its duty of care. Without this evidence properly preserved, it becomes more difficult to prove that the railroad is at fault.

The railroads are well aware of this, and some have engaged in disturbing patterns of evidence spoliation and destruction. From hampering investigative efforts at incident sites to intentionally losing or destroying evidence, railroads have shown that they will go to great lengths to avoid responsibility. For example, while Schlichter Bogard recently obtained a record-breaking $12 million verdict on behalf of an injured switchman against his employer, Kansas City Southern Railway, we had to overcome numerous obstacles to obtain justice, including combating the railroad’s attempts to conceal important evidence. More details about that important case can be found here: https://uselaws.com/propublica-rail-safety-christopher-cole-nelson-wolff.

In the end, a court may sanction and fine railroad carriers for egregious acts of destroying evidence related to work injuries. And although these sanctions punish misconduct, they cannot always undo the damage of lost evidence for impacted workers and their claims.

Injured railroad workers have already suffered greatly due to their employer’s negligence. They should not have to overcome evidence destruction tactics to receive justice. But with a resolute approach to evidence preservation from the start, you, with the support of the highly experienced Schlichter Bogard team, can level the playing field and force the railroad to take full responsibility.

Your rights matter. Your evidence matters. Through our efforts to hold railroads accountable, including by preserving critical evidence, preservation, we can make railroads answer for their failures—regardless of their attempts to hide the truth and avoid responsibility.