In the years since the passage of the FELA, the United States Supreme Court has gone to great lengths to emphasize the jury’s all-important role in FELA cases. The court has held that under the FELA, the right to trial by a jury is “part and parcel“ of the remedy.

Although the FELA is a negligence based statute, it is nevertheless “an avowed departure from the rules of the common law” and is designed to protect railroad workers who “are helpless to provide adequately for their own safety.”

In keeping with the humanitarian purpose of the Act, it is interpreted liberally to favor recovery by the injured employee.

Injured railroad workers are covered under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). They are NOT covered by Workers’ Compensation and are NOT entitled to automatically recover damages. Instead, injured railroad workers must prove the railroad was negligent in failing to furnish a reasonably safe work place and/or the proper equipment for work.

The Federal Employers Liability Act, known as the FELA, is the federal statute that governs recovery for on-the-job injuries for railroad workers.

Over 100 years ago, Congress passed the FELA to provide compensation for railroad employees injured on the job. In passing this law, Congress sought to shift the cost of the “human overhead” of railroading from the injured employees to the railroad.