FELA Claim & Amtrak Injury Cases

Situation:

Could the railroad have prevented this Amtrak passenger from falling?

We represented a 45 year-old Amtrak train attendant, who was assisting a large, elderly boarding passenger up the steps of the train when the passenger fell backwards and our client caught him, just before hitting the concrete train platform. In the process of catching the passenger, our client suffered a twisted knee and torn quadriceps which eventually required repair surgery. Even though the surgery was successful, our client was unable to return to his job with the railroad since he was no longer able to stand on a moving train day in and day out.

At first, the railroad refused to offer a settlement, claiming that the accident was not their fault. In railroad accidents, no-fault worker’s compensation is not available for injured railroad workers. If injured on the job, a railroad worker’s sole remedy is the Federal Employers Liability Act of 1908 (FELA). Therefore, we filed a lawsuit against the railroad under the provisions of the FELA.

After taking several depositions of our client’s co-workers and supervisors, we proved that the railroad might have been able to prevent this accident by making a “double stop” of its long train at the station where the elderly passenger was boarding. This would have allowed the passenger to board the train directly in front of the station, rather than forcing him to walk several blocks on the train platform before boarding, thus tiring him out and making him much more unstable while boarding.