In the eyes of many, working on the railroad is something that people did in the past. It’s almost a cliche to us — the idea of people working hard on a railroad, when most us are now flying or driving our own cars. Believe it or not, many people still travel by rail on a regular basis. In fact, railroad tracks have expanded to include the more notably modern metro systems that many city-dwellers reply upon daily. There are also freight haulers, which bring in quite a revenue. In 2014, the U.S. Class I railroads brought in a revenue of $475.75 million or perhaps even more. So yes, people still work on railroads. And people still get hurt working on the railroad as well. This is why certain laws have been put in place to protect railroad employees. Where once the railroad industry was famous for the neglect and even abuse of employees, now railroad titans have to be held responsible for the injuries accrued by their employees. This has to happen — people must be held responsible for the dangers railroad employees face. For that matter, should employees survive their injuries, they need to have their medical bills taken care of. And if they don’t survive, their family members must be provided for. Let’s look into how railroad employees are protected by the law and FELA lawyers — and why these legal interventions had to happen in the first place.
The FELA Law: What It Is And How It Came To Be
All railroad employees should be familiar with the FELA law, though unfortunately many are not. Luckily, there are FELA lawyers who can help them become familiar with the law and how it protects their rights. FELA stands for Federal Employers’ Liability Act. Between 1889 and 1920, the American railroad expanded exponentially. This meant that more people were employed. Many of them were poor and had few rights, which meant that they could be exploited by their employers. They were paid little and were often hurt or killed on the job, with no consequences for their employers. The FELA law was put in place to ensure that railroad workers were compensated for their injuries — and if they died, their families were compensated. With that being said, some believe that FELA should be replaced by workers’ compensation. Unlike workers’ compensation, FELA requires that negligence has to be proved by the injured party. Now, the compensation for a railroad employee is either equivalent what would be given through workers’ compensation or somewhat higher, which is one reason why FELA has remained in place. This revision to railroad law has led to the advent of FELA lawyers — that is, railroad injury lawyers that specialize in this specific law. FELA lawyers can help railroad lawyers prove negligence and get the compensation they deserve.
Railroad Risks: The Reality Of Injuries And Deaths
As any FELA lawyer can tell you, the risk of injury or death in the railroad injury is quite high. This isn’t just an issue of the past — it’s still a problem to this day. 2015 alone saw 3,919 railroad accidents and incidents. When you break down these accidents and incidents, the statistics become even worse. That same year, there were 240 railroad fatalities. There were 691 railroad accidents, and of those 46 were train collisions. 490 were train derailments, and the reasons why they happened were even more disturbing. Track issues led to 189 incidents, and human factors led to 259 of them. 2015 also six railroad employee fatalities and 1,430 nonfatal injuries to railroad employees.
These statistics cannot be ignored. With that being said, people who endure injuries on the railroad can be helped. They just need to know that this can happen, and for that matter that FELA lawyers can get them real results. Thanks to FELA law, people can have hope after their injuries on the railroad.
