Railroad workers in Illinois may wonder what they need to do should they become injured while on the job. Because railroad injuries can be severe, the government has set up a form of protection called the Federal Employees Liability Act (FELA). Filing a FELA claim is the best way to get help after an accident. As railroad injury attorneys in St Clair County, Illinois, we’d like to present these facts about FELA claims.
Railroad injury statistics
Many people think that railroads are a seldom-used form of transportation; however, thousands of people and businesses rely on railways to travel and transport their goods. The Association of American Railroads estimates that two billion tons of goods are transported via freight trains every year in the United States. The amount of travel that trains do along with the inherent dangers of trains leads to injuries. In 2019, over 1,600 injuries and deaths were reported by employees while working on railroads.
Steps to filing a FELA claim
The first thing to do after an injury is to report it to your supervisor. Your supervisor will make a detailed report on the nature of your injury and how it happened. It’s important to be forthright in this report about your accident, what caused it and other conditions that played a role. You will then receive emergency medical treatment and a thorough evaluation. The doctor will then recommend a treatment plan that will help you recover.
Pursuing your claim
It’s important to know that FELA claims cover all of your medical care and lost wages from the time missed while you recover, but it can take some time. Make your own report that describes the accident and your injuries as well as a log of all of the time you missed from work. This should include the hours you missed on the day of the injury and during your rehabilitation. Though pursuing a claim can take a little bit of work and persistence, it is the best way to get help after a railroad injury.
