Can I File a Railroad Worker Injury Claim Even if I was Partially At Fault?
A serious injury can happen in an instant in any Alabama rail yard, from the bustling operations in Birmingham to the complex port logistics in Mobile. One moment, you are performing your duties, and the next, you are facing a medical emergency, lost time from work, and an uncertain future. For many injured railroaders, this physical and financial stress is compounded by a persistent, nagging fear: “What if the accident was partly my fault?”
Perhaps you took a known shortcut, or momentarily failed to use a piece of protective gear, or misjudged a step. In Alabama, any admission of fault is a serious concern, as many residents are familiar with the state’s harsh “1% rule” for personal injury cases, which can prevent an injured person from recovering anything at all.
This fear is valid, but for railroad workers, it is often based on a misunderstanding of the law. If you are an injured railroader, you are not covered by Alabama’s state-level personal injury laws or its workers’ compensation system. You are protected by a specific federal law.
What Law Governs Railroad Worker Injuries in Alabama?
When a railroad employee is injured on the job, their claim is not filed through the Alabama state workers’ compensation system. State workers’ comp is a “no-fault” system, meaning an employee can receive benefits regardless of who caused the accident, but the benefits are limited (e.g., they do not cover pain and suffering).
Railroad workers are covered by a federal law passed in 1908 called the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA).
FELA is not a “no-fault” system. To have a successful FELA claim, the injured worker must prove that the railroad was “negligent” and that this negligence caused, in whole or in part, the worker’s injury. While this may sound more difficult than a workers’ comp claim, FELA provides a significantly lower burden of proof and allows for a much fuller range of compensation, including payment for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future lost wages
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental and emotional anguish
- Permanent disability and disfigurement
The most important distinction, especially for a worker in Alabama, is how FELA handles the issue of employee fault.
The Critical Difference: Alabama’s Contributory Negligence vs. FELA’s Comparative Negligence
This is the central issue that causes so much confusion and fear for injured workers in our state. The standard for partial fault in a FELA case is completely different and much more favorable to the worker than the standard in a typical Alabama personal injury case.
Alabama’s Harsh Rule: “Pure Contributory Negligence”
In most non-railroad personal injury cases in Alabama (like a car accident in Montgomery or a slip-and-fall in Huntsville), the state follows a doctrine called “pure contributory negligence.”
This rule is unforgiving. It states that if an injured person is found to be even 1% at fault for their own accident, they are completely barred from recovering any compensation. The at-fault party could be 99% to blame, but if the jury decides you contributed 1% to the incident, you get nothing. This is why admitting any fault is so detrimental in a standard Alabama injury claim.
The FELA Standard: “Pure Comparative Negligence”
FELA operates on a federal standard known as “pure comparative negligence.” This standard is designed to be much fairer to the injured employee.
Under comparative negligence, you can recover compensation even if you were partially at fault for your injury.
Here is how it works:
- A total value for your damages is determined (e.g., medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering).
- A percentage of fault is assigned to you (the worker) and a percentage is assigned to the railroad.
- Your total compensation is then reduced by your percentage of fault.
If your total damages are $200,000 and you are found to be 20% at-fault, you can still recover $160,000 (your $200,000 in damages minus your 20% portion of fault).
Even if you were 60% at fault, you could still recover 40% of your damages. As long as the railroad’s negligence played any part in causing your injury, you have a claim.
How is Fault Determined in a FELA Claim?
To have a valid FELA claim, you must prove that the railroad was negligent. FELA places a very high and continuous duty on railroads to provide their employees with a reasonably safe place to work. This includes providing safe equipment, proper training, and adequate warnings about known hazards.
The standard of proof for this negligence is low. You only need to show that the railroad’s negligence played any part, no matter how small, in causing your injury.
An investigation into your accident will look for evidence of negligence from both sides.
What are Common Examples of Railroad Negligence?
Railroads can be found negligent for a wide range of failures. Even if you made a mistake, your claim can proceed if the railroad also failed in one of these areas:
- Poorly Maintained Walkways: Failing to maintain safe walkways in rail yards, leading to slips, trips, and falls on uneven ballast, debris, or oil.
- Defective Equipment: Providing you with faulty tools, broken locomotive seats, or non-functioning safety devices (e.g., a bad handbrake or a broken grab iron).
- Inadequate Training: Failing to properly train you or your coworkers on safe operating procedures or the handling of specific equipment.
- Failure to Enforce Safety Rules: Allowing a dangerous work culture to exist where supervisors ignored or even encouraged shortcuts.
- Insufficient Staffing: Forcing crews to work short-handed, leading to fatigue and rushed, unsafe work practices.
- Violation of Safety Standards: Ignoring federal regulations from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) or the railroad’s own internal safety rules.
- Unsafe Work Methods: Designing a job in a way that is inherently dangerous or requires awkward, injury-causing movements.
- Failure to Provide Proper PPE: Not providing or maintaining the correct personal protective equipment for the task.
What are Examples of Worker Actions That Might Reduce a FELA Award?
The railroad’s attorneys will work hard to assign as much fault to you as possible to reduce their payout. They will look for evidence that you:
- Failed to follow a known and enforced safety rule.
- Were not wearing the safety equipment that the railroad provided to you.
- Were distracted at the time of the incident (e.g., using a personal cell phone).
- Took an unauthorized and known dangerous shortcut.
- Were rushing or not paying attention to your surroundings.
- Operated equipment in a manner you were not trained for or were explicitly told not to.
Your attorney’s job is to minimize your percentage of fault by maximizing the railroad’s percentage of fault, showing that their negligence was the primary driver of the accident.
How Comparative Negligence Works: A Hypothetical Scenario
Let’s put this into a practical, hypothetical example.
- The Accident: An experienced conductor at the Norris Yard in Birmingham is riding the side of a railcar during a shoving move. The track ballast is poorly maintained and has large, uneven gaps (Railroad Negligence). As he dismounts, his foot lands awkwardly on the unstable ballast, causing him to fall and suffer a severe ankle fracture and a back injury. However, the investigation shows the conductor dismounted while the car was still moving at 3 mph, a violation of a known safety rule (Worker Negligence).
- The Damages: A jury determines the conductor’s total damages for medical bills, future lost wages, and pain and suffering are $1,000,000.
- The Fault Allocation: The jury decides the railroad’s failure to maintain the walkway was the primary cause of the fall and assigns it 70% of the fault. They determine the conductor’s decision to dismount from a moving car contributed 30% of the fault.
- The FELA Result: The conductor recovers $700,000. ($1,000,000 in damages minus his 30% of fault, or $300,000).
- The Alabama State Law Result: If this had been a non-railroad case, the conductor’s 30% fault would mean he would recover $0.
This example clearly shows why you must not give up on your claim just because you think you share some of the blame.
Is There an Exception Where My Negligence Does Not Matter at All?
Yes. This is a powerful and important provision within FELA.
If an injured worker can prove that the railroad’s negligence was a violation of a specific federal safety statute, then the worker’s own contributory negligence cannot be used to reduce the award.
The most common laws this applies to are:
- The Federal Safety Appliance Act (SAA): This act requires railroad cars and locomotives to be equipped with specific, functioning safety devices, such as secure couplers, handbrakes, ladders, and grab irons.
- The Boiler Inspection Act (BIA): This act covers the safety and maintenance of the locomotive itself and all its parts (e.g., seats, windows, throttles, sanders).
If your injury was caused by the failure of a part covered by the SAA or BIA (e.g., a grab iron broke off, a coupler failed, a locomotive brake malfunctioned), your claim is for 100% of your damages. Even if you were rushing or careless, your negligence is not a factor. This is a complete bar to the railroad’s “comparative negligence” defense.
What Should I Do After a Railroad Injury in Alabama?
The steps you take immediately after an injury are vital for protecting both your health and your FELA claim.
- Seek Medical Attention Immediately. Your health is the first priority. Report all of your injuries, no matter how minor they seem.
- Report Your Injury. Report the accident to your supervisor as soon as possible and fill out a personal injury report.
- Be Factual and Careful. When you fill out the accident report, stick to the facts. Describe what happened, what equipment was involved, and what your injuries are. Do not guess, speculate, or admit fault. A statement like “I must not have been paying attention” can be devastating to your claim.
- Document Everything. If you are able, take photos and videos of the accident scene with your smartphone. Get pictures of the defective equipment, the unsafe ground conditions, or any other hazard that contributed to your injury.
- Get Witness Information. Get the names and phone numbers of any coworkers or other witnesses who saw what happened.
- Do NOT Give a Recorded Statement. A railroad claim agent will contact you very quickly. They are not on your side. Their job is to limit the railroad’s liability. Be polite, but decline to give a recorded statement until you have spoken with an attorney who has experience with FELA.
- Contact an Experienced FELA Attorney. FELA law is a highly specialized field. A lawyer who primarily handles car accidents or state workers’ comp will not be familiar with the unique rules, burdens of proof, and federal statutes that govern your case. You need representation from a firm that knows how to fight and win against railroad corporations.
Contact Burge & Burge, PC for Experienced FELA Representation
After an on-the-job injury, railroad companies and their claim agents will often try to place as much blame as possible on you, the injured worker. They may suggest that your claim is worthless because you violated a rule or were not paying attention. At Burge & Burge, PC, we have been fighting for the rights of injured railroad workers and their families in Alabama for decades. We are deeply familiar with FELA and the tactics railroads use to deny or devalue claims.
We know how to investigate an accident to uncover the railroad’s negligence from poorly maintained tracks and equipment to inadequate training and unsafe work practices. We will work to show that the railroad’s failures played a part in your injury and fight to minimize any fault wrongly assigned to you.
If you are an Alabama railroader who was injured on the job, even if you believe you were partially at fault, do not give up. Contact our office today at 205-947-2962 for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case and learn how we can help.
