$1.6 million verdict for back injury in Montana FELA case

A former BNSF train conductor received a $1.6 million verdict from a Montana jury in a FELA suit he filed for a back injury he suffered while entering a locker room at a rail yard.  The claim was apparently based on the accumulation of snow and ice caused by snow melting on the roof of the locker room facility.

This fact pattern is on which underlines the fact that FELA does not apply only to injuries which take place during work operations, but extends to all injuries sustained during the course of their employment.  Since work brought the injured conductor to the locker room, the railroad's responsibility for providing a safe place to work to their employees followed them to the locker room.

It also helps understand two ways in which FELA cases are different from ordinary work related injuries in Illinois:

1.  If this man was not employed by the railroad, he would be eligible to pursue an Illinois worker's compensation claim, which is a no-fault proceeding;

2.  Liability claims for slip and fall cases in Illinois involving snow and ice applies the "natural accumulation" rule where there is no liability for property owners caused by falls on natural accumulations of snow and ice.  FELA cases do not draw that distinction.  If removing the snow and ice is required for railroads to meet its legal responsibility to provide a safe place to work as required by FELA, then that is what they must do, and they can be held liable for failing to do so.

FRA report attributes train crash to human error

The FRA recently released its report into the causes of a train crash accident last December.  The train crash happened in Minnesota and resulted in the derailment of 26 cars.  Additionally, one locomotive went off a bridge and into the Mississippi River. 

The report concludes that the accident was due to one Canadian Pacific train disregarding signals, and as a result crashing into another, larger Canadian Pacific train.  A train conductor and an engineer had to be hospitalized with injuries.

The failure of the train crew to heed signals can be the basis of a FELA suit against Canadian Pacific.  FELA makes railroads liable for injuries suffered by its employees due the failure to provide a safe place to work for their employees, including the unsafe acts of co-workers.  The FRA report shows that unsafe acts by fellow railroaders would the basis of the FELA claims for the men injured in this train crash accident.

Train crash accident results in wrongful death of two railroaders

The engineer and conductor of a Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern train died in a train crash accident on Tuesday.  These railroaders, who both lived in Savanna, Illinois, were in the lead locomotive of a two locomotive, 83-car train which was going through Bettendorf, Iowa when they ran into a cut of train cars which were standing on the track to which they had been dispatched.  The train crash and train derailment resulted in the wrongful death accident which claimed the lives of these men.

As railroaders, their families would not be eligible to collect Illinois worker's compensation benefits, but would haver to file a FELA wrongful death suit.  This would require that they show that the railroad did not provide them with a safe place to work.  Obviously, having a standing cut of cars on a track where you have been cleared to operate is a safety hazard for railroaders.

This accident calls to mind the Amtrak derailment at Christmastime a few years ago.  This was also an accident where the train was dispatched down a track where there a was standing cut of cars.  One of the keys aspects of this case will be the issue of who was responsible for clearing that track and why the standing cut of rail cars were there when these men were told that the track was clear for operations.

The families of these men would do well contact an experienced Rockford train accident lawyer to investigate these important issues.

Train conductor killed in derailment

A train conductor was killed in a train derailment accident in Alabama.  He was standing on the back of a cut of tanker cars when the tanker car he was riding on derailed, causing him to be thrown from the car and pinned between the tanker car and some scrap metal.  The exact cause of the derailment is under investigation.

Because the deceased was an employee of a railroad, the only basis for compensation that his family can make is under the Federal Employers Liability Act, or FELA.  FELA requires railroads to provide its employees a safe place to work, including safe track and equipment.  Since the most likely cause of the train derailment was either defects in the track or the cars in the train, the family would have to pursue an FELA case based on defective tracks or equipment, depending on the final results of the investigation of the train derailment.

CSX employee killed at railroad crossing

A CSX railroader was killed in an accident in Pennsylvania when he was hit by a tractor trailer.  The railroader was making repairs to a railway crossing that had been damaged in an earlier accident.  He was repairing crossing lights when he was hit by the tractor trailer as the truck turned to go over the railroad crossing. 

According to the new story, the railroader was wearing a safety vest and cones were out to mark his work area.  The truck driver saw the railroader, but did not make a proper turn and ran over him.

The fault for this unfortunate accident lies primarily with the truck driver and the trucking company.  However, CSX's responsibility for this accident as well.

FELA requires railroads to provide adequate manpower to complete a job and a safe place to work.  According to the news story, the railroader was not accompanied by any members of the crew that was making repairs, as they were all down the tracks at the time he was run over.  Providing a safe place to work would include placing a spotter or a flagger out to keep traffic away from this railroader as he made repairs to the crossing lights -- after all, he cannot  be expected to pay attention to what is doing and watch traffic.  Further, some more significant barrier than orange safety cones was required, such as a vehicle. 

This railroader, now dead, was left alone and exposed to traffic.  By any reasonable definition, that is not providing adequate manpower or a safe place to work, and under FELA, that responsibility belonged to CSX.

Yard worker crushed in coupling operations at CSX yard

A yard worker at a CSX railyard in New York was killed Sunday evening when he was crushed in between two cars during coupling operations. The victim's father, a fellow CSX employee, noted that this kind of railroad accident is one of the worst fears of railroaders.

The exact cause of the accident is under investigation by authorities (and CSX, no doubt), and one the key issues that will have to be determined is why and how this young man came to be in that position, as the  Safety Appliance Act requires railroads to have operable automatic couplers on all railcars.  When the railroad fails in this duty, they cannot place blame on the deceased railroader for the accident which caused his death.

This will be a crucial issue in anysubsequent FELA wrongful death lawsuit.  Any family in this situation would do well to hire an experienced FELA lawyer to represent their interests in any investigation into this unfortunate accident.

Florida train crew injured during derailment

This past weekened, members of a Florida East Coast Railroad crew were hospitalized after their train derailed.  The train was carrying chemcials, and exposure to fumes from hydrochloric acid caused some crew members injury following the train derailment.

Accidents such as this fall under FELA.  Railroads are required by FELA to provide railroaders with a safe place to work, including providing safe equipment.  Tracks are part of the equipment used by railroaders during their day to day work, and if track inspections could have revealed a defect in the rails, then the railroad will be held liable under FELA for the injuries sustained by this train crew as a result of this derailment.

Appellate Court affirms $1.6 million judgment

A Wisconsin appellate court has affirmed a $1.6 million judgment in favor of a train conductor who was injured when the door to a train cab fell off its hinges and struck him.

The news story does not state that the case was filed as a FELA case, but given that it was filed by a railroad employee against the railroad, it is clear that was the basis for the lawsuit.  FELA makes railroads liable for injuries caused to its employees by defective equipment, and having a loose door on a train certainly qualifies as a legitimate FELA case.