Railroad Worker Injuries & Train Accidents
Railroad Worker Injuries - FELA
Railroad employees who are injured on the job are covered by
a federal law - the Federal Employer's Liability Act - which is better known as
FELA. Under FELA, the railroad has a duty to provide a safe work environment for
its employees. Whether the injury, disability, or death occurs as a result of a
failure to enact appropriate health and safety measures, faulty equipment or
tools, or poor working conditions or practices, the railroad may be held
responsible for the consequences. Damages under the FELA may be far greater than
those awarded under traditional Workers Compensation laws that apply to others
in the work force.
Charles E. Gray, founder of the Gray, Ritter & Graham law
firm, was one of the early FELA plaintiff attorneys in the United States. For
more than 60 years the railroad accident lawyers at Gray, Ritter & Graham have
represented railroad employees and their families in many types of FELA cases,
including:
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Traumatic spinal cord injuries and brain injuries
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Loss of limbs
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Occupational illnesses and death
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Exposure to toxic chemicals, including asbestos, diesel
fumes, metals, cleaning solvents, and other harmful toxins
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Carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive trauma injuries
We recognize that a work place injury places a tremendous
burden on railroad workers and their families. Our office provides full service to
injured railroad clients and their families by helping them to receive the
healthcare and railroad benefits to which they are entitled and aggressively
pursuing a successful resolution of their claim.
Train Accidents and Railroad Crossing Accidents
Unfortunately, there are numerous serious injuries and
fatalities in the United States each year resulting from dangerous railroad
crossings, defective railroad equipment, and dangerous railroad practices. These
accidents include, for example:
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Collision with another train
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Derailments
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Collision with a car, truck or bus
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Mechanical failure that leads to an accident
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Inadequate security on the train
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Dangerous and unsuitably maintained tracks
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Toxic spills
The most shocking number of non-work-related railroad
accidents and injuries occur at railroad/highway crossings. According to the
Federal Highway Administration, a train strikes a vehicle or a pedestrian at a
railroad crossing approximately every two hours. Because of the weight of trains
and the speed at which they travel, railroad crossing accidents have the
potential for catastrophic injuries and death.
Gray, Ritter & Graham's courtroom skills and expertise in
railroad injury and wrongful death claims span six decades. The railroad injury
and railroad accident attorneys at GRG have handled a high volume of railroad
accident cases ranging from work-related FELA injuries and wrongful death to the
catastrophic/traumatic incidents which occur from situations like those
described above and in the example cases listed below.
Representative Cases
We treat the cases handled by GRG for our clients as
confidential, both as to the identity of our clients and the settlements or
verdicts achieved on their behalf. For this reason we have omitted client and
case names in our description of representative cases successfully handled by
GRG except when the case has received widespread publicity in the media. Please
click on the case description for more news about those cases which are marked
with a **.
We caution viewers that past results reported on this Web site afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits.
**Railroad failed to provide a safe work place. A railroad electrician filed a
claim under the Federal Employers Liability Act against Union Pacific
alleging that excessive walking in the workplace contributed to a painful
inflammatory condition in his feet that ultimately required surgery. The
Appeals Court affirmed the verdict, which granted compensation for the
injuries sustained during employment.
Skull fracture and neurological injury to carman when
defective hatch on locomotive engine failed.
Permanently disabling back injuries to switchman
attempting to throw a frozen switch.
Verdict for a security employee who suffered a disabling
spinal injury when a train moved without warning while he was inspecting a
tri-level car, throwing him to the bedrock.
Case for carman suffering severe, disabling burn
injuries as a result of fire on a railroad car.
Severely disabling burn injuries to railroad switchman
following explosion in the rail yard.
Verdict of $500,000 in Detroit, Michigan federal court
for worker with bulging disc in neck.
Verdict of $1 million for railroad laborer with back and
neck injuries caused by defective car mover.
Verdict of $700,000 in St. Louis for railroad worker
with back injury who returned to work.
Verdict for office worker who suffered carpal tunnel
from repetitive motion.
Verdict of $240,000 for railroader with asbestosis who
continued working.
Settlement during trial for electrician suffering back
injury while throwing defective switch.
Settlement for worker in Beaumont, Texas with back
injury from connecting defective air hose.
Settlement of numerous cases in Detroit, Michigan
against railroad guilty of repeated safety violations.
Settlement for railroad engineer whose locomotive seat
malfunctioned, causing disabling back and neck injuries.
Settlement for Arkansas manager who fell fifteen feet
through an unguarded opening in the warehouse.
Settlement for Mississippi railroad foreman injured due
to company's violation of Hours of Service Act.
Settlement for railroad engineer who fell in engine
compartment with inadequate lighting, sustaining serious back injuries.
Settlement during trial for Arkansas railroad engineer
and conductor injured in crossing accident with rice truck. Both workers
suffered back and leg injuries.
Settlement for Arizona trainman injured as a result of
company's violation of Federal Hours of Service Act.
Settlement for family injured at unmarked unlighted
crossing in Arkansas.
Settlement in Arkansas federal court case for client
whose husband was killed at a crossing with site obstructions. Sanctions
awarded as a result of railroad's destruction of evidence.
Settlement for Southeast Missouri family whose mother
was killed at a crossing with malfunctioning signals.
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