Know Your Rights Under The FELA

Preface

This page is not legal advice. Legal advice can and should come only from a lawyer. The purpose of the pamphlet is to let you know that there is a law, an Act of Congress called the “Federal Employers’ Liability Act,” in which you are or definitely should be interested.

The United States Supreme Court, in a decision rendered on April 20, 1964, stated:
“Injured workers or their families often fall prey on the one hand to persuasive claims adjusters eager to gain a quick and cheap settlement from their railroad employers, or on the other to lawyers either not competent to try these lawsuits against the able railroad counselor too willing to settle a case for a quick dollar.” This page is designed to acquaint you with your nights given to you by Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States. We hope it will be of benefit to you.

Why This Page?

Each year railroad workers by the thousands are injured or killed while on the job. The number of job accidents is increasing because of the failure to provide safe working conditions, speed-up, or reduction in forces (called “downsizing”).

In many instances injured railroad workers, their spouses or their survivors are left to fend for themselves. All too often the railroad companies, through claim agents, and other methods, succeed in dodging their just, lawful responsibility.

The railroads often try to get rid of disabled workers by pressuring them into taking inadequate disability pensions. The companies thus avoid their own legal responsibility and unload their obligations on to the Railroad Retirement Fund. Disabled workers, as a result, often fail to receive decent support during the remainder of their lives.

But injured workers are entitled to and should receive their just, full compensation under the provisions of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. They are entitled, also, if possible, to continue on their job and not be forced into retirement. Today, therefore, it is more important than ever that railroad employees should know their rights. They should learn how to safeguard these rights when hurt on the job.

Know Your Rights

Many railroad workers have been led to believe that when a person is hurt on the job they are entitled only to “compensation.” Most Railroad Claims Department agents usually tell them that “compensation” is a percentage of the time or wages lost. This is not true. The idea that an injured railroad worker is entitled solely to wages lost is not only false, but may prove costly to the worker and their family. The fact is that railroad employees injured through the fault of the carriers are usually entitled under the law to receive much more than their lost time or wages.

When an employee of an interstate railroad is injured (or killed) at work, he or his survivors come under the protection of a law of Congress known as the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. Under this Act, an injured railroad worker is entitled to recover more than the time or wages lost if the railroad is at fault for causing the incident. In addition, he is entitled to be paid all of his expenses for medical treatment, for pain and suffering, and for any permanent injury, whether partial or total. If he is killed, his survivors are entitled to recover all damages, without any limit upon the amount, which they have suffered as a result.

The Law Says

The railroads, under the law, have a duty to provide safe places of work for their employees. They must also provide safe equipment, tools and proper working conditions for them. If a railroad fails to take these safety measures, or if the employee is injured through the carelessness of any other employee, the railroad is held responsible. The railroad is liable to the worker for any injuries or damages he may suffer as a result. The amount of money an injured railroad worker is entitled to recover is decided by two factors:

1. how serious his injuries and losses are and
2. whether he can prove his injury was in some way, or in some part, due to the fault of the railroad, the negligence of any of its employees, or some defect in equipment, tools, or any unsafe working condition.

Keep A Record

The railroads often try to avoid their obligations to injured employees. It is, therefore, important the injured worker be in a position to get and keep proper information. This information should show if and how the accident was caused, in whole or in part, by the negligence or fault of the railroad, or by other employees of the railroad, or by unsafe working conditions. The worker must also be in a position to prove the nature and extent of his injury and his loss.

Sign No Statement

Immediately after an accident, fill out the required accident report. Explain the unsafe conditions and acts causing the injuries. Many railroads try to have the injured employee or spouse give a separate statement as to how the accident happened. Experience shows that the employee frequently signs a statement without reading it or without understanding the trick wording with which such “statements” are loaded. Such statements often include “weasel-words” with which the claim agent intends to prove that the accident was not the fault of the railroad, or any of its employees, but was the fault of the injured employee. Such statements often also include hidden phrases that describe the worker’s injury as not serious.

Except for the Accident Report, do not make any other statements, either orally or in writing, as to how the accident occurred, until you have been fully advised by your attorney. Most union agreements with the railroads specifically provide that an employee is entitled to representation even in an “investigation.” Even if no such union provision exists, the Federal Employers’ Liability Act gives an injured employee the right to have representation in any and all aspects of his claim. Many claims have been defeated or sharply reduced in the amount because injured railroaders sign statements, fill out forms or make reports which they do not carefully read or fully understand.

Should You See Your Lawyer?

It is fair to assume that your relationship with the railroad company for which you have worked is a happy one, that you have liked your work, and that you and your employer have enjoyed mutual respect and cooperation in getting the railroad work done. You have no doubt worked as a team. You have been headed in the same general direction and to some extent your interests have been common. That situation, however, changes immediately when you are hurt on the job. No matter how congenial your relationship has been with the railroad company, this much is certain: the minute an injury occurs on the railroad. your interests and the interests of the railroad company become absolutely opposed to each other.

This does not mean that in every case the railroad company will be unfair or dishonest. It does mean, however, that the railroad company is not going to pay you a fair amount unless you are prepared to prove that you are absolutely entitled to compensation under the law, and then not a single dime more than is absolutely necessary. There is no generosity in this business.

To protect its interests, the railroad company has lawyers and claim agents on its payroll. It is with the claim agents that you will most likely have to deal. Some of these people are very able, highly skilled technicians and know exactly what they are doing. Most of them are honest, but the very fact that they are honest means simply that they will do their very best to work 100% for the railroad company and not for you.

The claim agent who tells you that he has your interests at heart is not only cheating you, but if he means what he says, he’s cheating the railroad as well. The claim agent is the only employee of the railroad company who is not engaged in helping the railroad company earn money. His sole purpose is to try to save the railroad company money it has already earned. If you let him do it, he will save the railroad company money at your expense.

The minute you or your spouse is injured, a battery of highly trained people go to work on your case for the railroad company, to develop by investigation those facts which will help the company, including taking photographs which will show a situation favorable to the railroad company and unfavorable to you. They will look into the law to find that which will help the railroad’s case and hinder yours. In the meantime. While the railroad company is busy protecting its interests, what are you doing about yours?

If you feel that you do indeed need help to cope with the skill and experience which is working against you, then, obviously, just as a man who is sick should call his doctor, you should call upon your lawyer. Ask him or her for advice. Take the attorney’s word, and not the word of the claim agent or some well-meaning but uninformed friend, as to what the law is and what it means in your particular case.

The truth of the matter is, the railroads do not want you to see a lawyer. They know you will in all probability receive more compensation for your claim if you do. The railroad company will consult with its own lawyers every step of the way. The company will tell you that you don’t need a lawyer, but who ever heard of a railroad firing its own lawyers? Of course, it will cost money to be represented by a lawyer. A lawyer does not, and cannot, work for free, any more than you can. And a lawyer who works at “Clit rates” will give you “cut rate” service, and you’ll wind up with a “cut rate” result. Nothing worthwhile is free. The hiring of a lawyer means you will get what you pay for, and perhaps more. In the last analysis, the experience of thousands of men and women just like you will show that it is better to share a little of a lot than to keep all of a little. If you already have a lawyer in whom you have confidence and whom you believe to be qualified to handle the type of a case discussed here, then by all means consult him or her.

Advice About Lawyers

Chances are you have never needed the services of a lawyer before. It is quite likely, therefore, that you do not know who to turn to for legal advice, and at the same time be sure that your rights are being fully protected.

There are a few simple rules to keep in mind. There are many, many lawyers in your community-most of them good lawyers, some of them poor ones. In these days of specialization, many lawyers, like most doctors, tend to specialize. If you want a will drawn, or an estate probated, you would naturally turn to one type of lawyer and not another. If you are involved in a tax matter, you would turn to a lawyer who knows the tax laws. By the same token, if you are hurt on the job and want to know where you stand so far as the Federal Employers’ Liability Act is concerned, you should naturally turn to a lawyer who knows and has worked with the law. It would be foolish to take your tax problems to a lawyer who has specialized almost exclusively in naturalization matters, for example, and it would be equally foolish to ask a lawyer about rights under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act if he has had little or no experience with that law. If you did so, you might make out all right - but then again, you might not. The first thing to do, if you decide to select a lawyer and do not have one, is to find out for yourself who the lawyers are in your community who are experienced and specialize in cases arising under this particular law.

Your friends and fellow workers, and your union representatives, can tell you, if you do not already know, who the lawyers are in your community who are outstanding in this field.

If you or your spouse are hurt, and need legal advice, the only people in the world you should think about are your family and YOU. A lot will depend on how wisely you make your choice. Take your time, ask around, listen to those who are interested in helping you select the best lawyer available on the basis of his experience, his record, and his standing in the profession and the community - and you cannot go wrong.

When There Are Injuries

Railroaders and their spouses should keep in mind the following rules:

1. Get the names and addresses of all persons who saw the accident.
2. Report the accident and injury to your supervisor. Fill out the accident form and explain the unsafe conditions, which caused your accident.
3. Do not make or sign any other statement for the railroad before having your attorney see and approve it.
4. Know your rights. Do not accept the railroad’s advice or decision as to how much money you are entitled to receive.
5. Consult your Union Representative and Attorney. Protect yourself and your family.
6. The advice and counsel of a lawyer are the railroad worker’s best guarantee that the claim will be properly evaluated and handled.

Approved Attorneys for Brotherhoods of: UTU, BLE&T, BMWE, lBF&O, lBEW, BRS, BOILERMAKERS, SHEETMETAL WORKERS

For more than 50 years, Crow Law’s personal injury attorneys have been fighting for the rights of injured people.

Today, injured people from all walks of life-from Sacramento and San Dimas to San Francisco, San Bernardino, San Jose, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Riverside and Oakland-turn to these personal injury experts for help in getting what is rightfully theirs. They represent injured people in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon.