Cogan & Power- The-Federal-Employers'-Liability-Act

THE FEDERAL EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT The Federal Employers' Liability Act, known as the FELA, provides compensation for work injuries to railroad workers. FEDERAL EMPLOYERS LIABILITY ACT If you work for the railroad, your only • • If you are a railroad employee, you are not right to compensation for a work related entitled to state worker compensation injury is through the FELA. benefits or coverage. The FELA was enacted as the first statute to provide for compensation for injured workers. In 1908 when the FELA was put As a result, Congress enacted the FELA, which is the only way a In the last half of the into law by the United States 19th century, in what became a Congress, there were national scandal, thousands of railroad worker or his family can be compensated for a no state workers railroad workers were killed every compensation statutes. year and tens of thousands work injury or loss of life. of railroad workers were maimed. There are significant differences between state workers compensation laws and the FELA. Most importantly, in order to obtain Recognizing the imbalance between the carrier and the Every railroad has on-call claim agents and attorneys whose only job is to immediately investigate injuries to employees with an eye towards negating any negligence or liability on the compensation under the injured employee, the United FELA, an injured railroad worker must prove the railroad was negligent. States Supreme Court authorized designated counsel familiar with the FELA to represent injured railroad workers. part of the carrier. • Although the FELA provides an employee has up to 3 years from the date of injury to file his claim in court, it is important for an injured worker to immediately consult with designated counsel after an injury. The railroad has trained and skilled people to question an injured worker with the goal of establishing that the railroad was not guilty of any negligence. • Before submitting an injury report or talking to the claim agent, an injured railroad employee must consult with an attorney who is working on his side. • An injured employee must prove the railroad was negligent and its negligence was a cause of his injury in order to be compensated for his injuries. • If the employee fails to present a fact pattern consistent with the railroad's negligence from the start, his claim may be doomed. In this regard, the standard railroad injury report usually 中 contains a place for the injured employee to describe what the railroad did to cause the injury. Failure to include a claim of negligence on the part of the • railroad in the initial accident report is strong evidence against the injured employee. Therefore it is crucial to properly fill out the accident report to • include a complaint about how the railroad was negligent in causing the injury. The United States Supreme Court recognizes that injured railroad employees must have counsel from a designated attorney to assist them in their claim against the railroad under the FELA. Most FELA claims end up in court as the railroads have recently taken the stand that they will save money litigating every FELA claim. So Many unsophisticated lawyers, unfamiliar with litigating FELA cases, are unwilling to go to battle in court against the railroad and end up settling for less than fair value. Under the FELA a claim may be filed in either state court or federal court. Most FELA claims end up in court as the railroads have recently taken the stand that they will save money litigating every FELA claim. Railroad employees are not in the Even in cases where an employee is able to return to work, due to decreased earning capacity and a decreased worklife expectancy social security system; rather, railroad employees participate in the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) pension system. the effects on the employee's RRB pension can be substantial, It is crucial when litigating an FELA case to have experienced FELA counsel who can investigate • The amount of a retirement annuity is determined by, among other thing, the employee's and quantify the RRB pension loss earnings and length of service. as the result of an on the job injury. When an employee's career is cut short by an injury, the RRB pension usually is significantly reduced. If you are hurt at work at the railroad, call Cogan and Power immediately for advice on your FELA claim. COGAN &POWER. P.C. ATTORNEYS AT LAW Office location: Phone: 312.477.2500 A Website: http://www.coganpower.com/ Cogan & Power, P.C., Attorneys at Law 1 East Wacker Drive, Suite 510, Chicago, IL 60601 Infographic by Market JD www.marketjd.com og