Thousands of people are injured or killed every year in accidents caused by trains or a train company. Typically these events occur in two situations. The first situation involves an injury or death of a railroad employee while working for a railroad company. The second situation involves a non-railroad employee injured or killed in a train accident. To learn more or discuss filing a claim, consult with a Sunset Hills train accident lawyer with our firm today. Our dedicated personal injury lawyers could work with you throughout the legal process.
Federal Employees Liability Act (FELA)
The Federal Employees Liability Act (FELA) provides compensation for railroad employees who are injured or killed on the job. It allows railroad employees or family members of deceased employees to bring an action for personal injuries against their employers. Even if an employee was partially at fault, he or she may still recover some of the damages that were incurred.
FELA was enacted because railroad workers were not covered under state workers’ compensation laws, and it became quite clear that working for the railroad is inherently dangerous. However, recovery for injuries is not automatically awarded as it is under normal workers’ compensation. Instead, an injured party must prove that the employer was partially at fault for the injuries incurred.
Injuries are compensable under FELA if they were caused by the carelessness of any railroad manager, supervisor, or employee or by a defect in railroad equipment, property, tracks, or stores.
Once negligence is proven, the worker is entitled to be compensated for past, present, and future damages. Contact one of our FELA attorneys to discuss how we can move forward with your train accident claim.
Call a Sunset Hills Train Accident Attorney to Discuss Your Claim
Railroad and train companies owe the general public a standard of care. This standard of care is to act as a reasonable person/company would under the same or similar circumstances. If that person or company fails to do so, then they are negligent. Some of the situations where a railroad company could be negligent are when an engineer failed to provide proper warning at an intersection, a railroad crossing warning failed to operate properly, or when a train was moving faster than the speed allowed by law. These are just a few of the ways a railroad company can be at fault for another’s injury.
To learn more about your right to file a claim, contact our Sunset Hills train accident lawyers today.
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