FEDERAL EMPLOYERS LIABILITY ACT – FELA
Unlike South Carolina Workers’ Compensation claims, the Federal Employer’s Liability Act or FELA provides that an employee must prove liability in order to recover for their on the job injury where as in State court workers’ compensation is a no-fault system.
Workers’ Comp Lawyer Ryan Montgomery handles accident, injury and workers’ comp claims in all of South Carolina including Aiken County, Anderson County, Laurens County, Lexington County, Newberry County, Richland County, Spartanburg County and Sumter County, SC. Dial (864) 207-4764 for a free consult. You can also email the firm here.
Specifically, railroad employees have a unique relationship with their employer as workers’ compensation is not available to them but instead they must file a FELA claim or lawsuit in Federal Court to prove this negligence- for workplace injury compensation.
FELA makes every interstate railroad liable for workplace injuries if “such injury … result[ed] in whole or in part from the [railroadʹs] negligence … or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, track, roadbed, works, boats, wharves, or other equipment.” . So, unlike South Carolina workers’ compensation, recovery under FELA requires some degree of employer fault.
Under South Carolina workers’ compensation claims, the system is designed to make you whole and provide you with medical treatment and ultimately compensate you for any resulting disability. Under FELA, the available damages are different. This is particularly important in wrongful death cases because FELA does not allow for recovery of damages for the loss of companionship or society caused by the death. Courts have recognized the following damages in FELA case: