All legal issues about railroad services fall under the umbrella of railroad law. Numerous legal challenges and conflicts may occur due to the nature of railroads and trains. However, it’s crucial to understand that railroad law as a distinct branch of the law doesn’t actually exist. Instead, railroad law is a collection of laws.
Passengers and non-passengers can file personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in these situations. Another legal matter that frequently comes up when railroad personnel are hurt at work is workers’ compensation.
Railroad Law Concerns
- Personal Injury: Personal injuries include those brought on by or resulting from train service negligence. Such claims may result from negligence, faulty train components, or improper behavior on the part of a railroad employee. Injury claims involving railroad crossings are also fairly common.
- Wrongful Death: Wrongful death refers to situations where a passenger, non-passenger, or employee dies due to a train service’s negligence. These lawsuits may result from railroad mishaps like derailments or collisions.
- Workers’ Compensation: Workers’ compensation is designed to provide benefits to workers who sustain workplace injuries. Although workers’ compensation disputes in the railroad business are primarily a state matter, they are governed by the federal Act FELA, which is included below. When railroad staff examines or works on a train, injuries frequently occur.
Finally, because railroads are frequently used to transfer cargo over state boundaries, railroad rules may also be affected by other federal transportation laws. Another issue is the shipping of illegal substances or contraband.
Workers’ Compensation and the FELA in the Railroad Sector
The only available legal recourse for a railroad worker suing his company is under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). The FELA requires railways to take reasonable precautions to ensure that every railroad employee has a safe workplace.
An employee of a railroad is entitled to the following compensation under the FELA for work-related injuries:
- Past and future lost wages;
- Current and future medical costs, if the injured worker paid them out of pocket;
- Payment for the employee’s diminished capacity to earn a living as a result of the injuries sustained (lost earning capacity, which is distinct from lost wages); and/or
- Compensation for pain and suffering.
Premises Liability: What Is It?
Property owners are liable for mishaps and injuries that occurred on their grounds under the law of premises responsibility. This covers any mishaps or injuries sustained while visiting their house or place of business.
Property owners are required by premises liability legislation to safeguard the safety of anyone entering their property and take all necessary precautions. Premises liability is a legal concept typically connected to personal injury claims in which an individual was hurt due to dangerous or defective circumstances on another person’s property.
The legal concept of negligence, which relates to a failure to exercise reasonable care, frequently provides the foundation for these claims. Another individual is harmed or damaged as a result of that failure. In contrast to direct actions, negligence addresses a person’s failure to take specific safeguards and actions.
The plaintiff must establish each of the following elements in order to establish negligence and premises liability:
- The property owner owed a duty of care to the visitor or person who was hurt on their property.
- That a hazardous, unsafe, or defective condition existed on the property.
- The owner was aware of the condition but did nothing to address it.
- That the injury resulted from the owner’s failure to act with reasonable care to prevent the ailment.
In general, a person owes another person a duty of care if there is a possibility that they would damage them via their own actions or omissions. The failure of the property owner to act reasonably or prudently under similar circumstances constitutes a breach of this responsibility.
Therefore, it must be demonstrated that the injuries claimed were caused by the property owner’s carelessness in an “actual and proximate” manner. The plaintiff must then demonstrate that the property owner’s carelessness brought on a quantifiable loss or damage once the other three factors have been shown.
What Causes Train Collisions?
There are many instances of what causes railway accidents. These instances include inclement weather, conductor-related problems, and equipment issues.
Wear and tear on the roadbed, improper track geometry, faulty anchors and joints between the bars and rails, and malfunctions with switches and other track appliances are a few examples of hardware problems that are frequently encountered.
Derailments, head-on collisions with other trains, collisions with automobiles, and pedestrian-train accidents are a few typical forms of train accidents.
Most railway accident cases include passenger trains, although they may also involve other railroad modes of transportation, such as trolleys, cable cars, trams, and monorails.
Furthermore, “train accident” is sometimes used to refer to various accidents. Examples include slip-and-fall occurrences, electrocution incidents, especially those connected to the rails, and accidents in train stations.
Most frequently, these accidents result in injuries to the head, neck, spine, or other body parts.
Especially in derailments and head-on collisions, some railway accidents can be fatal.
Is a Railroad Responsible for Accidents Occurring at Crossings?
Just because a crossing is dangerous does not make a railroad liable for injuries. To be held accountable, the railroad must have neglected to maintain the crossing, which must be particularly hazardous. A railroad crossing is considered “extra hazardous” if it cannot be safely used without taking additional safety precautions over and above what is typically done.
Liability in accidents involving railroad crossings depends on a variety of variables. The most typical ones are:
Effectiveness of Warning Devices
In the absence of a law requiring gates or other safety equipment, there is typically no obligation to provide such. Nevertheless, foreseeable mishaps may necessitate the deployment of safety equipment.
For instance, crossings with a lot of traffic or crossings where it is difficult to see approaching trains may indicate that the railroad was careless in failing to install gates or other safety measures. The train firm may be liable for negligence per se if safety equipment is absent from a crossing where they are required by law (an act that is intrinsically negligent because of the violation of a statute).
Degree of Hazard Liability
The degree of hazard liability is based on how dangerous a given railroad crossing is. The riskiness of the crossing will be affected by factors including the weather and barriers.
For instance, obstructions to oncoming trains’ vision caused by structures, bushes, trees, weeds, or grass may be a sign that the railroad failed to exercise due care. According to laws in some countries, railroads must remove all trees and shrubs from their right-of-way for a predetermined distance on either side of a crossing.
Protection of Train Operators
The train and crew must exercise reasonable caution to prevent harm to persons who use the crossing. Trains must sound a bell or whistle to alert other vehicles when they are about to approach a railroad crossing. Additional aspects of the train and its crew, such as speed, lights, signals, and lookout, may constitute proof of the railroad’s negligence.
Should I Speak to a Lawyer If I Was Hurt at a Railroad Crossing?
A personal injury lawyer could assist you in obtaining compensation for your injuries if you or someone you know was hurt at a railroad crossing.
Even though the railroad corporation could have defenses against culpability, a lawyer can assist you in preserving your rights and strengthening your case.
