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.

Typically, injured railroad employees are covered by the health insurance provided to them as a result of the collective bargaining agreement. Some companies maintain specific health insurance policies for injuries suffered by employees on the job, but it is very rare that a railroad employee is covered by workers’ compensation. This means that whenever an employee is being treated for on-duty injuries, he or she needs to make sure that the health care provider knows which health insurance company is providing coverage and reimbursement for medical care.The health care provider should also be given the information off of the health insurance member card for billing purposes. If that information is not provided to the health care provider, the doctor, nurse, hospital or clinic may attempt to file the bills with a workers’ compensation carrier, which will lead to the bills being declined, a delay in payment and, perhaps, a referral to a collection agency on bills, which can all be prevented by having the bills promptly submitted to the proper health insurance carrier.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.