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Railroad Accidents
Railroad FELA
The Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA") was enacted by Congress
in 1908 to address the growing number of work-related injuries in the
railroad industry. Like other industrial safety statutes, the FELA was
an attempt to require the railroad industry to bear the costs for the
inevitable deaths and injuries of employees -- the "human overhead" of
business.
Railroads: Dangerous Work
Even today, the railroad industry is regarded as one of the most
dangerous industries in the country. But not all railroad related
deaths and injuries however, are due to train accidents and derailments.
Every year, hundreds of railroad employees are diagnosed with
lung-related illnesses as a result of their occupational exposure to
numerous harmful materials and substances.
Years of regular, unprotected exposure to asbestos, chemicals, PCBs,
diesel fumes, rail dust and dust particulates, cleaning agents, and
various other harmful contaminate substances often results in a variety
of pulmonary conditions and illnesses. These illnesses can be
debilitating, progressive and often untreatable.
Who's Responsible?
In most cases, the railroad/employer bears responsibility for these
injuries because it negligently failed to take steps to protect the
health and safety of its employees. The railroads, under FELA, have a
duty to provide safe places of work for their employees. This duty
extends also to their tools, equipment and working conditions. If a
railroad fails to take these safety measures, or if an employee is
injured due to the carelessness of any other employee, the railroad is
held responsible and is liable to the injured worker for any damages he
may suffer.
When injury to the worker is the result, even in part, of the
negligence or carelessness of any officer, agent or employee of the
railroad, or the injury is caused by any defect in the cars, engines,
appliances, machinery, track, road bed, or any other equipment of the
road, the railroad will be held liable for that worker's injuries.
By failing to either provide a workplace free from asbestos, PCBs,
diesel fumes or other harmful lung irritants, or to provide necessary
safety training and equipment, such as respirators, the railroads have
failed to meet their duty under the law. Result: the railroads are
responsible for lung-related injuries suffered by workers resulting
from the worker's exposure to these pulmonary irritants.
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