• FELA
• FELA Attorneys
• FELA Injuries
• FELA Insurance
• FELA Employment
• FELA Pneumoconiosis
• FELA Liability Act
• FELA Railroad Injury
• Facial Injuries
• Head & Neck Injuries
• Shoulder Injuries
• Spine Injuries
• Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
• Whole Body Vibration
• Hand/Wrist/Elbow Injuries
• Shoulder/Arm Injuries
• Knee/Ankle Injuries
• Diesel Fumes
• Coupling Injuries
• FELA Ballast Injury
• FELA Slip & Fall Injuries
• FELA Safety Act
• FELA Railroad Illnesses
• FELA Lung Disease
• FELA Norfolk
• FELA Norfolk Employment
• FELA Laws
• FELA Regulations
• FELA Deposition
• FELA Lawyer
• FELA Cases
• FELA Claims
• FELA Trials
• FELA Settlements
• FELA Benefits
• FELA Lawsuits
• FELA Law Firms
• Contact a Lawyer

Find a Lawyer in Your State

Find a Lawyer by State Alaska Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Need Help?

• Accutane®
• Cerebral Palsy
• Darvocet®
• Denture Cream
• Depuy ASR™ Hip Implant
• Fosamax® Femur Fracture
• MiniMed Insulin Pump
• Multaq®
• Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
• Paxil® Birth Defects
• Propecia®
• Shoulder Pain Pump
• Topamax®
• Truck Accident Lawyer
• Wellbutrin®
• Yaz® Birth Control

 

Call Today: (800) 773-6770

 

Submit your FELA claim details for a free, no obligation case review

 

Get Started:

Find a Lawyer by State Alaska Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FELA (Federal Employers' Liability Act) laws were instituted in the early 1900s. At the time, the railroad industry in the U.S. had expanded very dramatically. Few safety guidelines or precautions were used by the railroad companies, which were in stiff competition for routes and revenue. As a result of the gross lack of safe working conditions, thousands of railroad workers were killed or severely injured due to the dangers of their work.

Tens of Thousands of Injuries and Deaths among Railroad Workers

For example, in the year 1901 alone, more than 40,000 railroad employees were injured and over 2,600 were killed on the job. As the U.S. Supreme Court later noted, "In 1888 the odds against a railroad brakeman dying a natural death were almost four to one; the average life expectancy of a switchman in 1893 was seven years."

Although state-administered Workers' Compensation programs were available for injured railroad workers, these programs were grossly inadequate in most cases and varied widely from state to state. Even worse, the railroad companies rarely lost a case or paid out any benefits; the laws were severely biased in favor of employers. For example, if the railroad worker's injury or death was due at all to his own fault — even one percent so — there would be no recovery for the worker.

Incredibly, even when the injury or fatality was completely the railroad company's fault, the employer could successfully argue that the worker "assumed the risk" of working in a dangerous environment and should therefore receive no compensation for his losses.

The President's Support

In 1901, U.S. Representative Henry Flood (Democrat, Virginia) argued for the passage of better programs to protect the health and safety of railroad employees. The U.S. President at the time, Benjamin Harrison, had also advocated for the such laws, noting in a speech to Congress that "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."

However, the railroad companies fought tooth-and-nail against the passage of FELA and opposed the implementation of any legislation that would increase the protections for their employees. Public outrage over the devastating injuries and deaths among so many railroad workers finally won over, and FELA became the first of several major pieces of social legislation protecting workers in the 20th century.

FELA Guidelines

FELA eliminated the "assumption of risk" concept in railroad injuries, and the Act made it possible for an injured railroad worker to collect compensation even if he was partly at risk for the injury. Instead, a "comparative fault" system was used to determine the recovery; for example, if the worker was found 25 percent responsible for the injury, the compensation would be reduced by 25 percent.

In the decades following the passage of FELA, Congress repeatedly revised the Act to strengthen it in favor of railroad employees and make it easier for the injured or surviving family members to collect benefits when appropriate. Today, injured railroad workers have a fair playing field for being fully compensated for losses.

For more information about FELA laws or to discuss your own claim, contact a FELA lawyer today.

"Norfolk Says FELA Claim was Filed Incorrectly"

Norfolk Railway Company asked a judge to dismiss a Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) claim brought against them, Nov. 6. Norfolk alleges the FELA claim is defective.

<...

» Read More

 

"FELA Suit for Man Who Lost Leg"

A Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) trial should be underway this month as Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack begins to select a panel of 12 jurors. Charles Moore filed the ...

» Read More

 

"Another Norfolk Southern FELA Lawsuit"

A lawsuit was recently filed by a former signal maintainer for Norfolk Southern Railway against his employer.

The suit claims the company failed to provide th...

» Read More

 

• Admiralty Laws |
• Aviation Law |
• Bad Faith Insurance |
• Bankruptcy |
• Benzene |
• Birth Defects |
• Bosentan |
• Cerebral Palsy |
• CIGNA Insurance Company |
• Coal Ash |
• Consumer Fraud |
• Contract Law |
• Defective Hip Implants |
• Dioxin |
• Disability Discrimination |
• Discrimination |
• ERISA |
• Fair Labor Standards Act |
• FELA |
• Fluoride Bone Cancer |
• Jones Act Lawyers |
• Lead Exposure |
• Manganese |
• Maritime Law |
• Mesothelioma |
• Other Practice Areas |
• Nursing Home Abuse |
• Offshore Lawyers |
• BP Oil Spill |
• Pesticide Safety |
• PPH |
• Qui Tam Law |
• Racial Discrimination |
• Security Clearance Denial |
• Sexual Discrimination |
• Silicosis |
• Social Security Disability |
• Standard Insurance |
• Stock Fraud |
• SUV Rollover |
• Tardive Dyskinesia |
• Toxic Substance |
• Toxic Mold |
• Unum Group |
• Variable Annuities |
• Vinyl Chloride |
• Welding Rod |
• Whistleblower |
• Wood Dust Exposure |
• Workers Compensation Lawyer |