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The United States Congress passed the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) to give railroad workers a means of holding their negligent railroad company employers accountable for their incurred injuries and damages while on the clock. In other words, they have the legal right to file a FELA claim. So, this resonates with you, and if you want to receive the maximum amount of financial compensation possible, you must proceed with an exceptionally strong FELA claim. That said, please follow along to find out how to strengthen your FELA claim and how one of the proficient FELA lawyers at Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson LLP can work to ensure all the right elements are met.

What circumstances need to be true for a valid FELA claim?

Notably, FELA law is unprecedentedly lenient toward injured railroad workers. This is because a valid FELA claim only requires proof that a railroad company employer’s negligence “played some part” in causing the injury. This is not to say, though, that you should not make further efforts toward proving the following set of circumstances as true:

  1. You were employed by a railroad company that operates across state lines (i.e., interstate commerce).
  2. You incurred your injury or contracted your illness while performing your job duties for the railroad company.
  3. Your railroad company employer was negligent in failing to provide a safe working environment on the railroad.
  4. Your unsafe working environment was a contributing factor to your incurred injury or contracted illness on the railroad.

What measures can I take to strengthen my FELA claim?

To reiterate, there is no guarantee that you will “win” your FELA claim. What’s more, you may be striving toward the outcome of settling outside of court for a substantial amount. For this, you must take every measure possible to strengthen and bulk your claim. This may be accomplished through the following actions:

  • You can report the accident event or your symptoms of a contracted illness immediately with your employer.
  • You can seek medical attention immediately, to establish a chain of medical evidence linking to your time working on the railroad.
  • You can take photos and videos of the unsafe working conditions present on the railroad, especially if you were made the victim of an accident.
  • You can collect testimonies from fellow railroad workers who can attest to the unsafe conditions, whether you got injured or contracted an illness.

It is worth mentioning that many western U.S. states follow the comparative negligence system. Meaning that the amount of damages you can recover may depend on your percentage of fault in the incident at hand. This is to say that the stronger your FELA claim is, the more financial compensation you may be entitled to.

In conclusion, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the talented FELA lawyers from Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson LLP. We look forward to hearing from you and later on helping you.