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more_legal_areas felaUnder the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), those individuals with Norfolk and Southern Railroad employment status (as well as other railroad company employment) are eligible for protection against work related injuries suffered as a result of railroad company negligence. Under FELA, Norfolk and Southern Railroad employment dictates that if an employee is injured on the job as a result of defective equipment or railroad appliances, heath related problems caused by exposure to toxic chemical solvents, diesel fumes and asbestos, injuries resulting in dismemberment, hearing loss, or any other railroad related injury, they have the legal right to seek compensation for their injuries.
Awards for medical expenses, loss of wages, partial or permanent disability, and pain and suffering are possible for injuries sustained as a result of Norfolk and Southern Railroad employment in cases where the employee can prove railroad company negligence was responsible for their injuries.
As a consequence of Norfolk and Southern Railroad employment, employees can be exposed to numerous work related hazards which may cause harm and injury in the short and long term. The toxicity of asbestos, for instance, has been known by Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company since the 1950s; however they claim not to have known that it was compromising the health of their employees. In the course of Norfolk and Southern Railroad employment, thousands of employees who have been exposed to this hazardous fiber have filed lawsuits under FELA for the serious lung problems they have suffered. Because the effects of asbestos can lie dormant for some time, experts expect many more asbestos related lawsuits to come in the next ten to thirty years. To date, it is estimated that at least fifty four billion dollars has been spent in asbestos related litigation.
Another potential injury related to Norfolk and Southern Railroad employment is exposure to diesel fumes and other noxious chemical solvents. Exposure to these materials can cause Toxic Encephalopathy. The characteristics of this condition can include depression, anxiety, decreased mental functioning, problems with equilibrium, and short term memory loss. More than six hundred railroad employees have been diagnosed with this condition in the last fifteen years.
Norfolk and Southern Railroad employment reports show that the company spent approximately forty one million dollars in 2002 on "personal injury settlements." Most often when a railroad injury is claimed by an employee under FELA, the railroad company will settle out of court. Because FELA law is complex, it is important to contact a professional legal expert who can counsel you on your specific case and your legal rights and options.
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