Shapero Roloff Co., LPA serves as Designated Legal Counsel and provides experienced representation and free consultation to all railroad employees. For over 25 years, our lawyers have handled railroad cases throughout the Midwest and Northeast quarter of the United States against railroad companies such as CSX, Norfolk Southern, PATH, Conrail, Norfolk and Western, Wheeling & Lake Erie, and Burlington Northern.

If you suffer an injury on the job, or have any other problem relating to your railroad employment, it is very important that you seek immediate legal advice from a law firm that is familiar with the railroad industry. Handling a case against a railroad is different than dealing with an employer in any other industry. Our firm has the experience and expertise necessary to make sure your legal rights are protected. We handle injury cases pursuant to the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA"), retaliation claims under the Federal Rail Safety Act ("FRSA"), disability appeals in the Railroad Retirement Board system, labor matters under the Railway Labor Act, and other employment law matters.

As nearly every railroad employee knows, railroads do not give employees information about their legal rights. Railroads hope that you don't know what to do if something happens to you at work, and the only person you contact is a supervisor or claim agent. What do you do when you get hurt at work? Unfortunately, the culture of harassment and intimidation that exists in the railroad industry makes this question difficult to answer. At Shapero Roloff Co., LPA, we are committed to providing railroad employees with the information they need to protect their rights. Employees who are properly educated before they suffer an injury at work can take the steps necessary to be fully compensated without fear of retaliation. Through our website, blogs, and by personally attending union meetings to talk to employees, our firm can be the resource you need to protect yourself in the railroad industry.

For specific information about FELA, FRSA or other railroad claims, please visit our Rail Law blog.

If you would like additional information regarding the legal services we provide to railroad employees, contact Neal Shapero (nshapero@shaperoroloff.com) or Andrew Thompson (athompson@shaperoroloff.com) at (216) 781-1700 or toll free at (800) 321-9199.

FELA Claims

“Every common carrier by railroad while engaging in commerce between any of the several States . . . shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury while he is employed by such carrier in such commerce . . . for such injury or death resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence.”

Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. §§ 51-60

What is the FELA?

The Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) is a federal law that applies to injured railroad workers, who are not covered under state workers’ compensation systems. The FELA was initially adopted by Congress in 1908 when the expansion of the country’s railroad system changed the needs of its employees. At that time it was apparent that railroad workers needed to be protected because the hazardous work they performed under dangerous circumstances and the little, if any, their employers did to keep them safe.

In order to recover under the FELA, a railroad worker must show; (1) that an injury occurred while the employee was working within the scope of his/her employment; (2) that the employment was in furtherance of the railroad’s interstate transportation business; (3) that the employer railroad was negligent; and (4) that the employer’s negligence played some part in causing the injury. Sinkler v. Mo. Pac. R.R. Co. (1958), 356 U.S. 326, 330.