No. The employees of the major railroads in North Carolina like Norfolk Southern (NS), CSXT, and Amtrak do not get workers’ compensation if they are injured during their work but instead have a right to sue their company under a special federal law called the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). Our law firm regularly serves as FELA injury attorneys in North Carolina (NC) for various railroad crafts including train crews like conductors and engineers, Carmen, car inspectors, and maintenance of way workers like machine operators and trackmen/laborers. Northeast North Carolina is a very busy place for trains especially in the Roanoke Rapids/Weldon and Rocky Mount areas.
The FELA law allows the injured worker to make a claim against the railroad company if it or any of its agents and employees were careless in causing the worker to be hurt or killed. The law applies in North Carolina and applies instead of regular North Carolina workers’ compensation law. If the employee can show that he was not provided a safe place to work, then the railroad is held responsible for any and all injuries he suffered which were caused in whole or in part by their neglect. These cases are often tricky because you need to know a lot about the world of railroad operations including how the various departments are run including the transportation department, the engineering (maintenance of way) departments, and the mechanical (car) department. Our law firm has developed a lot of expertise in representing railroad workers for over 20 years and has numerous ex-railroad employees on staff as investigators to help develop and prove the liability and damages in these cases. It amazes me how much there is to know about the railroad industry and FELA.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal My injury lawfirm (VA-NC law offices) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.
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