Federal Employment Liability Act

The Federal Employers Liability Act (“FELA”) is a federal law passed in 1908 that gives certain rights and compensation for railroad employees who suffer work-related injuries.  FELA permits injured railroad workers who are not covered by state workers’ compensation laws to file personal injury lawsuits against those companies that are potentially liable for their injuries.  Under FELA, railroad workers can recover damages for their injury, as well as for pain and suffering, after there has been a determination that the railroad company was negligent, at least in part, in causing the worker’s injury. 

Compensation under FELA

Due to this compensation scheme that differs drastically from the regular workers’ compensation benefits program, railroad workers often are able to recover damages that greatly exceed the compensation typically awarded to non-railroad employees through state workers’ compensation programs.  For this reasons, there have been many attempts to overturn and/or replace FELA, which, to date, have not been successful.

Liability and Negligence

In the years since FELA was passed, this federal employment liability act has served to amend the traditional contributory negligence doctrine.  Under FELA, even if an employee was guilty of contributory negligence to some degree, i.e. he or she acted in some negligent manner so as to contribute to the injury that he or she sustained, recovery for damages related to the resulting injury were not barred.  Rather, the damages award in such a case was to be decreased in an amount proportional to the employee’s contributory negligence.  Furthermore, a later amendment to FELA barred the defense that the employee assumed the risk for workplace accidents simply by working for the railroad industry.

FELA Attorneys

Since FELA claims are highly specialized, and necessarily result in litigation, it is essential to retain an attorney who has practiced extensively in this area of the law, in order to maximize your chances of receiving sufficient compensation for your work-related injury or illness.