What is the Federal Rail Safety Act?

The US Railway Safety Act was enacted by Congress under Obama, and it gives railroad workers, for the first time, the right to sue the railroad if they’re being harassed due to an on-the-job injury. So if you get hurt on the job and you file an accident report, and the railroad starts playing with your time or your benefits or what days you’re working, or suspends you for any reason, you can contact a lawyer and that lawyer can sue in state or federal court under the US Railway Safety Act. And you can get punitive damages, up to $250,000, against the railroad and the attorney gets his fee from the jury for how many hours that he worked.

And if you’re injured on the job and you have a claim, that same attorney could put your FELA case, your injury case, with the US Railway Safety Act in one complaint and it’s a very strong statute protecting the worker. From here on in, you can’t be fired for filing a FELA claim.

For legal representation with your railroad injury case, talk to a New York FELA lawyer of Hach & Rose, LLP, at 212-779-0057.