Protecting Whistleblowers & The Injured

Federal Employers Liability Act – Connecticut Attorney

Have you been injured by a railroad? Railroad workers who are injured or killed on the job do not have workers’ compensation. Instead, they are covered by a special federal law, the Federal Employers Liability Act, or FELA. For over 40 years, attorney Charlie Goetsch has been protecting injured railroad workers under the FELA.

The FELA applies to any traumatic work-related railroad injury (including cuts, sprains, broken bones, fractures, torn ligaments in the knees, elbow injuries, shoulder injuries, torn ligaments such as rotator cuff tendons, electrical accident injuries, burns, low back and neck injuries, paralysis, head trauma, amputation, and death) as well as occupational injuries and toxic injuries (such as carpal tunnel syndrome, asbestos and mesothelioma).

The FELA applies to railroads such as Amtrak, Metro North Railroad, New Jersey Transit Railroad (NJT Rail), PATH Rail, Long Island Railroad (LIRR), CSXT Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), Burlington Northern Railroad (BNSF), and Union Pacific Railroad.

The FELA gives injured workers the power to force the railroad to pay damages for their past and future wage loss, physical suffering, and mental distress. But unlike workers’ compensation, under the FELA, injured railroad workers can recover damages only if they prove their injury resulted from some negligence or fault by the railroad. Also unlike workers’ compensation, the FELA allows a railroad to reduce the amount of damages it pays by blaming the injured worker for causing his or her injury. So the railroad will do anything it can to place blame on the injured worker instead of on itself.

Most attorneys are not familiar with the railroad industry and the different standards applicable to FELA cases, so it is critical that you protect your rights by consulting an experienced FELA lawyer.

Attorney Charlie Goetsch has tried dozens of FELA jury trial and appeals and argued a landmark FELA case before the United States Supreme Court. He has won numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of railroad workers and is listed as a Super Lawyer in the field of plaintiff employment law. He has represented railroad workers in every craft and job, is designated legal counsel for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and serves on the Board of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys.

If you have been injured by a railroad, protect your rights by giving Charlie a toll-free call at 866-316-6825 or reaching him by email. Consultations are free, and FELA clients are represented on a contingency fee basis, which means any attorney fee is based on a percentage of the monetary damages collected in a settlement or jury verdict.

Contact An Experienced New York FELA Attorney

From offices in New Haven, New York and Washington, D.C., attorney Charles Goetsch provides legal representation for whistleblowers and railroad workers in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., throughout the northeastern U.S. and across the nation. If you have suffered a railroad injury or any retaliation in violation of your whistleblower protection rights or if you have information regarding fraud or waste involving any governmental monies, get the legal guidance you need. Wherever you are in the Northeast or across the United States, call toll free at 866-316-6825 or contact the office to arrange a free and strictly confidential consultation.