The Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. (1908), is a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the supreme law is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the ...

that protects and compensates

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

ers injured on the job.

Background

In the years between 1889 and 1920, railroad use in the U.S. expanded six-fold. With this expansion, the dangers to the railroad worker increased. President Benjamin Harrison addressed these dangers in a speech to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in 1889, in which he compared the plight of the railroad worker to those of a soldier at war:

It is a reproach to our civilization that any class of American workmen, should in the pursuit of a necessary and useful vocation, be subjected to a peril of life and limb as great as that of a soldier in time of war.

In discussing the need for legislation to address the railroad worker's exposure to harm, U.S. Representative Henry D. Flood, a strong advocate for the passage of the FELA, referred to alarming statistics about the injuries and deaths associated with work on the railroad. To curb these dangers, Congress relied upon the experience of certain states which had already passed legislation similar to the FELA to support the proposition that the FELA would lead to increased safety on the railroad. Flood urged the U.S. House of Representatives to "follow the lead of those enlightened and progressive states."

The Act

Adoption

The FELA Act enacted in 1906 was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1908 legislation passed by Congress, however, withstood tests. Congress passed FELA in response to the high number of railroad deaths in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Under FELA, railroad workers who are not covered by regular workers' compensation laws are able to sue companies over their injury claims. FELA allows monetary payouts for pain and suffering, decided by juries based on comparative negligence rather than pursuant to a pre-determined benefits schedule under workers' compensation. FELA was not intended to be awarded automatically. Unlike State

Workers' Compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

Law, FELA requires the injured railroader to prove that the railroad was negligent, at least in part, in causing the injury. After proving negligence, the injured railroader is entitled to full compensation. Such compensation is usually more individualized and equitable than that provided by State Worker's Compensation for non-railroaders.

Attempts to revise

NTSB aerial view of Bourbonnais grade crossing accident

In the 44 years following the enactment of the FELA, 26 bills were introduced to replace the FELA with workers' compensation. Congress refused in each instance to make this change. .

Solvent lawsuits

Tens of millions of dollars have been paid by railroad companies to settle

solvent A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...

lawsuits under FELA. Current or former railroad workers have claimed exposure to toxic solvents from the 1960s into the 1990s has caused mild to severe

brain damage Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage. A common ...

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

, the largest railroad in the eastern United States, has acknowledged settling 466

exposure claims and paying up to $35 million, though the company has continued to deny a link between solvent exposure and brain damage. Medical experts estimate that thousands of workers may be suffering from toxic encephalopathy, but have been misdiagnosed due to the complexity of diagnosing the debilitating illness.

Law Review articles

* "MTA, it's not "going your way" – liability of the metropolitan transportation authority under FELA: ''Greene v. Long Island R.R,'' St. John's L. Rev., Winter 2001. * "The Standard of Sufficiency of Evidence to Create a Jury Question in FELA Cases is Peculiar to That Type of Case, and a Reasonable Man Standard Is Applicable in Non-FELA Jury Trials," ''Boeing v. Shipman'', 411 F.2d 365 (5th Cir. 1969), 48 Texas L. Rev. 695 (1970).

References

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External links

Federal Employers Liability Act , Train Web
by Train Web, Online Railroad Community 60th United States Congress 1908 in American law 1908 in rail transport Public liability United States federal labor legislation United States federal transportation legislation United States railroad regulation United States federal legislation articles needing infoboxes Employers