Tampa Personal Injury Lawyers / Tampa Railroad Injury Attorneys

Tampa Railroad Injury Attorneys

Defending injured Florida railroad workers and their families

Dealing with a work injury is always a frustrating scenario, especially when your work injury involves a 5,000 ton train. The Tampa Railroad Injury Attorneys at Morgenstern & Herd stand behind railroad workers and people who have been seriously injured on or around a train track.  We will work with you to obtain all of the benefits you are eligible for.

Tampa Railroad Injury AttorneysWorking on the railroad can be hazardous.  The experienced Tampa Railroad Injury Attorneys at Morgenstern & Herd, PLLC know how to take on railroads, corporations, and their insurance companies.

Our attorneys represent all injured railroad workers, from trackmen to conductors, in all types of accidents in Florida.  We also represent passengers, bystanders, and motor vehicle drivers suffering injury due to:

  • Train accidents
  • Florida railroad crossing accidents
  • Auto-train collisions
  • Unsafe or dangerous platforms
  • Unsafe or dangerous work areas
  • Train derailments
  • Hazardous material exposure

Federal Employees Liability Act (FELA)

The Federal Employees Liability Act (FELA) protects injured railroad employees and provides compensation and money damages for those injuries.  Employees have a right to bring a direct claim and lawsuit against their employer.

Under FELA, an injured railroad worker is entitled to recover not only the time or wages lost, but to be paid all expenses for medical treatment, pain and suffering, and any permanent injury, whether partial or total.  Our Tampa Personal Injury Attorneys are experienced at investigating, negotiating, and trying railroad cases.

Frequently Asked Questions About Railroad Injury Claims

Am I Covered by the FELA if My Injury Occurs During a Railroad Job?
  • Oftentimes a railroader who is on the job or even off the job comes into the office and asks whether or not he’s covered under the FELA. For example, if you have a job where you travel on the railroad for a distance and as a result of being on the job for a 10 hour period you are required to remain overnight in a hotel.  You are still covered by the FELA while you are remaining overnight in that distant location.  There have been cases where individuals staying in hotels overnight will cross the road to go to a restaurant to eat and they’re struck by a car, they are still covered by the FELA if the railroad puts them into a place that involves a dangerous situation.
What Rights do I have as an Injured Railroad Employee?
  • If you are a railroad worker injured on the job, you have the right to file a claim against the railroad for injuries suffered while on the job as a result of the negligence of the railroad or even of a co-employee. The way the federal employer’s liability act reads is that any negligence however slight brings about a claim against the railroad under the FELA.
What Happens if I was Injured on the Railroad and it was Caused by Another Person?
  • If one of your co-workers plays a part in your injury and they are even slightly negligent, you still have a claim under the FELA against your railroad employer.  They are responsible for the negligence, or the carelessness of your co-worker.
As a Railroad Worker, Why Am I Not Covered Under Workers’ Compensation?
  • As a railroad worker injured on the job you are not eligible for workers’ compensation because there is a federal statute that has been in effect since approximately 1905.  This act is called the federal employer’s liability act and it actually provides more benefits to you than does worker’s compensation. Under workers’ compensation, an injured individual is normally entitled to recover 2/3 of their wage loss and all of their medical bills. They are not entitled to recover what we call pain and suffering or non-economic damages.  Under the FELA, an injured railroad worker is entitled to receive all of his wage loss, have all of his medical bills paid and have a claim for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, disability, impairment and loss of the ability to enjoy life’s pleasures.  Under the FELA you have much more extensive protection and can file much larger claims than can an individual entitled to workers’ compensation.
What Damages Can an Injured Railroad Worker Recover?
  • If you are injured on a job as a railroad worker, you can collect damages for your medical bills, your wage loss and also non-economic damages. Those include pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, disability, impairment or loss of the ability to enjoy life’s pleasures. The non-economic damages are the damages that an individual not covered by the FELA cannot receive under traditional worker’s compensation so under the FELA you are allowed to recover a much broader class of damages. If you’re injured as a railroad worker on the job please seek out our law firm to represent you in your FELA claims.
Can I Seek Out the FELA for Stress Injuries?
  • Railroaders who have worked on the railroad for a significant period of time have occupational injuries such as repetitive stress injuries like Carpal Tunnel, occupational diseases such as Silicosis, or hearing loss as a result of being exposed to harmful chemicals or loud noises.  Railroad workers have claims for these occupational diseases and injuries under the FELA.

Tampa Railroad Injury Attorneys Who Know the Law

If you have been a victim of a serious railroad injury even if you are not a railroad worker, contact our experienced Tampa Railroad Injury Attorneys to fight for you!

Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer Denny Morgenstern was accepted into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, one of the most prestigious group of trial lawyers in the United States.