What can I Recover for in a FELA Case?

Whether it is early into your career as a railroad employee or even at the tail end, a workplace injury can seriously affect your life and force you to make substantial changes. The damages and losses will soon pile up and leave you feeling drowned in a sea of expenses. However, there is light. There is hope.

You can always resort to the courts of law if you have been harmed on the job at a railroad company. The Federal Employers’ Liability Act, known as FELA, provides you with the avenue to compensation and redress for your various injuries. To understand the form and elements that your case might take, click here . Now, we want to review and explain what you can recover for if you file a FELA lawsuit in an Illinois court.

What Can Railroad Employees Seek In Court?

Railroad employees face tough conditions and unique circumstances. Therefore, their injuries arise from different scenarios than many other workplace accidents. When they do, however, here are some things that railroad employees can seek and obtain in a FELA lawsuit:

Economic Damages:

Typically, this is the quickest and most obvious pain you will feel from your accident on a railroad job. Economic damages are also called referred to as special damages and they are generally the things you must pay for out of pocket. They are the most frequent source of recovery and normally look like the following:

• Medical and general health care bills.
• Lost income from missed work.
• Property damage.
• Other lost investment and income opportunities.

Non-Economic Damages:

Economic damages are tangible in nature, easy to point at, easy to calculate. Yet, you might suffer other kinds of damages in a railroad accident while working. You might suffer more intangible injuries. These are commonly defined as non-economic damages or general damages. Here are some common non-economic injuries for which you can recover compensation for in an Illinois court:

• Long-term pain and suffering that the railroad injury caused you.
• Permanent or short-term disabilities that the railroad injury caused you.
• Disfigurement that the injury caused you.
• Change in the kind or quality of life that you experience due to the railroad accident.

Punitive Damages:

Sometimes, the railroad company’s actions might be so dangerous, extreme, or wanton, that you might be able to seek punitive damages. These have nothing to do particularly with any expense you incurred or injury you sustained. Rather, they are geared towards punishing defendants and discouraging others from making similar behavior. In terms of amounts, many times punitive damages can greatly exceed any out-of-pocket expenses plaintiffs have depending upon the specific facts and circumstances of the case.

Wrongful Death Damages:

Railroad employees are not the only ones who can recover in a FELA lawsuit. If the train worker dies in a work place accident, then his or her can seek damages in a court of law. Generally, these victims will seek reimbursement for the costs, lost income, and missed support that they suffer due to the decedent’s passing.

• Lost wages due to absences from work.
• Medical bills such as ER visits, ambulance trips, medications, rehab, etc.
• Lost opportunities to invest or start other financial operations.
• Lessened quality of life and self-esteem.
• Long or short-term pain and suffering that you sustain because of the physical injuries from the railroad accident.
• Lost income and support that a spouse or loved ones incur because of the decedent’s death from mesothelioma.