Norfolk FELA Attorney
An injured railroad worker who brings a claim under Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) must prove his employer was negligent before he can recover damages. Because of this requirement, railroad employers often come up with excuses and defenses to deflect blame on another party so as to avoid liability. If you have suffered on-the-job injury as a railroad worker, a Virginia FELA Attorney can help you counter any defenses your employer may come up with.
Defenses Railroad Employers Use to Defeat FELA Claims
Although Congress enacted the FELA law primarily to protect workers by eliminating several of the defenses employers use to defeat personal injury claims brought by injured workers, over the years, railroad employers have come up with several tactics to evade responsibility and avoid paying compensation to injured workers. Railroad employers use the assertions below to attempt to defeat FELA claims:
- They followed the standard safety precautions
- They did not foresee the injury
- An injured worker’s injury was caused by a third party
- The worker’s injury was caused by the injured worker’s own negligence
- The injured worker failed to file his claim timely
A Norfolk FELA Lawyer Can Help You Prove Your FELA Claim
An experienced injury attorney often knows from experience the likely defenses a railroad employer or other liable party will assert to defeat a claim. Fortunately, the law provides many avenues for an injured worker and his attorney to obtain evidence that will help an injured worker’s claim.
For example, if a railroad worker suffers an injury as a result of an assault by a fellow employee and the railroad employer claims they could not have foreseen the attack, an experienced attorney can ask the railroad employer to produce its personnel records to determine if the attacker had previously attacked another employee or exhibited violent tendencies.
In the past, injured railroad workers have successfully proved negligence against their employers for intentional acts and crimes committed by third parties by producing evidence to show the area where the wrongful conduct took place is a high crime area, yet the employer failed to take reasonable steps to provide security measures for the employee. Therefore, having an attorney who can obtain the evidence necessary to prove a FELA claim is very vital for securing a favorable verdict or settlement.
Contact a Norfolk FELA Lawyer to Recover Compensation for Your Railroad Worker Injury
Proving negligence against a railroad employer can be challenging as they have the resources to hire good experts and attorneys to argue the case in their favor. If you have been injured while working for a railroad employer, contact a Virginia FELA lawyer for a free case evaluation to determine what compensation you may be entitled to and the best way to fight the defenses your employer may assert to avoid liability.
