When deciding to assume a career as a railroad worker, you may have accepted the very dangerous work environment that you were subjecting yourself to. But this does not necessarily mean that you should accept the fact that you entered a catastrophic railroad accident at the hands of your negligent employer. That is, if negligence was at play when you incurred your serious injuries or illnesses, you may have a solid legal claim at your disposal. If you are contemplating this, please read on to discover the different negligence standards in a railroad injury case and how one of the seasoned FELA lawyers at Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson LLP can help you decipher which ones apply to yours.
What are the different negligence standards in a railroad injury case?
First of all, you should know that Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson LLP handles railroad injury cases for workers throughout the Western United States. This is to say that different states observe different negligence standards. Namely, there are the comparative and contributory negligence standards.
On the one hand, the comparative negligence standard holds that you, as the plaintiff of a railroad injury case, may be entitled to financial compensation even if you are found to be partially at fault for your accident event. Although, your monetary award may be reduced by your percentage at fault. For example, if the court rules you are 20 percent responsible for your railroad accident, you may only collect 80 percent of your claimed damages from your employer, as the defendant. Namely, Washington State goes by this standard.
On the other hand, the contributory negligence standard establishes that you cannot recover your damages in any capacity if you played a role in your accident event in any way. That is, even if you were only found to be one percent to blame, you may walk away with nothing. However, you may rest easier knowing that the only states that still follow this strict standard are Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
What does negligence per se mean in a railroad injury case?
Whether it be comparative and contributory negligence standards, there are circumstances in which your railroad employer may be held 100 percent liable for all the claimed damages in your railroad injury. Further, this may be regardless of whether the court finds you partially at fault.
This may be applicable through negligence per se. Specifically, negligence per se is if your railroad employer violates a specific safety regulation or statute designed to protect you and your fellow railroad workers (i.e., FELA violations). With this, they may be considered inherently and automatically negligent for the accident event without a need for additional proof.
What matters most is that you retain strong legal representation to get you through this critical case. For this, please contact one of the competent FELA lawyers from Hildebrand McLeod & Nelson LLP today.
