Frequently Asked Questions

In a FELA, or Federal Employers’ Liability Act, case, Virginia railroad injury victims should attempt to recover the following:

Past and future medical expenses, including hospitalization expenses.
Past and future lost wages.
Past and future pain and mental suffering compensation.
Past and future disability and loss of earning capacity.
Permanent injury, deformity or disfigurement compensation.

Keep in mind that recovery under FELA is granted instead of recovery under state workers’ compensation laws, and recovery is not permitted for both FELA and workers’ compensation. FELA allows financial recovery for pain and suffering, with the amount being decided by a jury based on comparative negligence, rather than according to a predetermined benefits schedule, such as that used in ordinary workers’ compensation cases.
Learn more: As Virginia and Carolina attorneys specializing in FELA and railroad injury law, we offer hundreds of pages of information to help you learn your rights and recover compensation if you’ve been hurt on the job, riding trains or crossing rail tracks. You may find our list “What Not to Do After a Railroad Accident” especially helpful.

As VA-based railroad worker injury attorneys, we regularly handle FELA, or Federal Employers’ Liability Act, cases against CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS), Amtrak and short-line railroads such as Bay Coast Railroad (formerly Eastern Shore Railroad) that have trains and tracks in Virginia.

Learn more: As Virginia and Carolina attorneys specializing in FELA and railroad injury law, we offer hundreds of pages of information to help you learn your rights and recover compensation if you’ve been hurt on the job, riding trains or crossing rail tracks. You may find our list “What Not to Do After a Railroad Accident” especially helpful.

The Federal Employers Liability act (FELA) is a federal law that protects and applies to railroad workers hurt on the job, working in interstate commerce. It is the exclusive remedy for railroad workers who are hurt on the job as far as claims against their own railroad employer. FELA covers accidents, diseases, and illnesses arising from the railroad workplace, or occurring at places or at times that are part of the worker’s job.
About the editors: The motto at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharplaw firm is simple -“All we do is injury law.” We hope you were able to find the answer to your injury query. If not, please review our Virginia Accident Lawyer FAQ Library for additional information. If you’d like to speak to an actual attorney about your potential injury claim for free, please contact our office at (833) 997-1774.

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