When you file a Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) claim, you essentially assert that your railroad employer acted negligently and caused your workplace injury. With this accusation, your employer may try to find any rebuttal to counter it. For one, they may claim that your scheduled work shift had not even started yet or had already ended. Or, they may show that you failed to punch in the date of your supposed accident event, insinuating that there is no proof that you were at work or should have been at work that day. To prepare for these possible defenses, please continue reading to learn whether you are still eligible to file a FELA claim even after forgetting to clock in to work and how one of the experienced FELA lawyers at Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson LLP can help you gather the evidence that matters.
Can I file a FELA claim if I forgot to clock in to work?
It happens to the best of us, where it simply slips our mind to manually clock in to work before starting our day’s job tasks. While this can usually be resolved easily for wage and hour reasons, it may pose a challenge in a FELA claim, however superficial the issue might actually be.
You may rest easier knowing that you may still be an eligible plaintiff for a FELA claim even if you forgot to clock in on the day of your workplace accident. Your employer’s log of their employees’ work schedules may easily clarify this. The date and time you were scheduled to work may align with the date and time you reported your injury to your employer, as well.
What factors are important to have in a FELA claim?
To reiterate, you should not be penalized for failing to clock in to work because it is beside the point of your accident. That is, it was not a contributing negligent factor in your workplace accident. Rather, these are the notable factors that the court will care about when hearing your case:
- The fact that you are suing the railroad company where you were an official employee.
- The fact that your accident and injury took place within the scope of your employment:
- Such as, your accident occurring in the workplace parking lot.
- Such as, your accident occuring on-site right before or right after your shift.
- Such as, your accident occurring while traveling off-site for work-related duties.
- The fact that the railroad company exemplified negligence by creating a dangerous workplace environment.
- The fact that your accident and injury were a result of interacting with this dangerous workplace environment.
- The fact that you brought your FELA claim forward before the enforced statute of limitations (i.e., three years from your injury date).
All of this to say, do not let your employer intimidate you with empty threats that forgetting to punch in will compromise the legitimacy of your case. Before you find yourself in an even worse position, you must retain legal representation from Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson LLP. One of the skilled FELA lawyers from our law firm will guide you on what to do.
