FELA Lawyer

Williams Kherkher - FELA Lawyers Providing Perspective

The FELA lawyers at Williams Kherkher make it their business to clearly understand the tenets and applications of FELA, which is a somewhat complicated law that was passed nearly 100 years ago. Below is a brief look at this federal statute, and we'd like for you to have a preliminary understanding of what's involved before you contact a FELA lawyer at Williams Kherkher for a free initial consultation.

FELA's Standards

"FELA" stands for "Federal Employers' Liability Act," and it was originally passed by Congress in 1908 in response to a rash of serious injuries and deaths of railroad workers around the United States. Prior to the passage of this law, there was no clear-cut standard for employees to use in pursuit of recovery of damages and lost wages.

Generally, FELA offers protection for railroad workers who are not covered directly by workers' compensation statutes, and allows them to work with FELA lawyers to sue employers who are negligent for the costs associated with injuries incurred, including damages for medical costs, lost wages and pain and suffering. The main difference between FELA and many workers' compensation statutes is that FELA cases are decided by juries, whereas workers' compensation issues are often settled by statutory equations that are basically predetermined.

The basic standard for deciding damages in a FELA lawsuit is comparative negligence, which is a technical legal standard that basically places a numerical figure on the damages involved and then awards a plaintiff a percentage of those damages based upon the amount of negligence that was deemed the responsibility of the employer and the employee. For example, if a jury decides that the total amount of damages in a case is $100,000, and that the employer was 90% at fault for the accident that occurred, then the plaintiff will be awarded $90,000 in damages.

Overall, FELA serves as a critical source for protection of railroad workers. However, it is also complicated in its application, which is why you need to contact a FELA lawyer at Williams Kherkher for a free consultation if you've been injured while on the job working for a railroad.