South Hampton Roads Railroad Worker Injury Attorneys
Suppose you are a railroad worker injured while doing your job in the South Hampton Roads region. In that case, you may wonder what options are available to recover compensation for your damages like lost wages, medical costs, and others. For most injured workers in other industries, a workers’ compensation claim is the proper channel to obtain remedy.
For railroad workers injured on the job, however, an action brought under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) is the primary option for obtaining remedy. If you are injured as a railroad worker, having an experienced railroad worker injury attorney advocate for you will ensure you obtain adequate compensation for your injuries.
Benefits of a FELA Claim
Unlike a traditional workers’ compensation claim, which does not require an injured worker to prove the negligence of his employer, a FELA claim requires an injured worker to prove that his injury was caused by the negligence of his employer. Despite this hurdle, a FELA claim offers significant protection to an injured worker in the following respects:
- An injured railroad worker can recover compensation for pain and suffering and for loss of earning capacity.
- Under FELA, a railroad employer has a non-delegable duty to provide a safe working environment for railroad workers. Therefore, an injured railroad worker can sue his employer directly for injury caused as a result of the negligence of third parties hired by the railroad employer. For example, if a cleaning service hired by the employer fails to promptly clean a spill on the floor resulting in a fall and injury to the railroad worker, the employer will be liable for the negligence of the cleaning crew.
- A railroad worker can recover damages even if his own negligence contributed to his injury; the court will only reduce his damages in proportion to his own negligence. This is unlike other personal injury claims in Virginia, where the negligence act of a victim acts as a defense to a negligence claim.
A South Hampton Roads Railroad Work Injury Attorney Can Help You with Your Claim
An experienced South Hampton Roads railroad work injury attorney can help with your railroad injury claim in the following ways:
- Advise you in which court to file a claim as FELA claims can be brought in both federal and state courts;
- Gather evidence to prove your case, including requesting records from your employer and obtaining expert testimony from doctors, safety experts, economists, or others
- Determine all the damages recoverable to you; and
- If the railroad company fails to make a reasonable offer to you, represent you at trial.
Contact a South Hampton Roads Railroad Worker Injury Attorneys
The law provides that a FELA Claim must be filed within three years. If you have been injured as a railroad worker in South Hampton Roads, contact the attorneys at Hampton Injury Law for a free case evaluation to determine what options are available to you.
