Florida FELA Lawyers
Florida’s first railroad began construction in 1834. When it was finished, it was used by mules to haul wagonloads of cotton between Tallahassee and the ships at Port Leon. In early fall of 1836, the Lake Wimico and St. Joseph Canal Railroad became the first steam railroad to do business in Florida. The company changed its name to the Lake Wimico and St. Joseph Canal and Railroad Company in 1838. In 1839, after being built in stages, it reached Iola on the Apalachicola River and carried cotton to St. Joseph.
The company eventually failed when the flourishing resort city of St. Joseph was deserted following an 1841 yellow fever epidemic, which was especially severe in the South. A number of unsuccessful attempts were made to revive the line. Eventually that part of the roadbed connecting Wewahitchka and White City in Gulf County were incorporated into the Beeline Highway, now a portion of state route 71.
From the state’s earliest railroad construction to today’s major rail systems, workmen have suffered on-the-job injuries. Railroad work often can be difficult and dangerous. Injury and sometimes death are not uncommon.
FELA Attorneys in Florida
By 1900, one in 300 railroad workers died in on-the-job accidents; one in 50 was injured. Mounting injuries and deaths in the dangerous business resulted in pressure being put on Congress to enact laws to protect railroad workers and have the industry pay them for their injuries and losses. The railroad workers’ unions had a powerful influence on Congress as did President Theodore Roosevelt in pushing through the laws.
To compensate injured workmen in the railroad industry, Congress passed the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) in 1908. Until passage of the set of laws, it was very difficult for railroad employees to be compensated for work-related injuries or for their families to collect damages upon their deaths.
The railroad worker and the railroad both must be engaged in interstate business for the injured workman to be compensated. Payment to a worker can include monetary compensation for pain and suffering as well as injury to part of the body or disfigurement. Lost wages and loss of pay in the future also can be compensated.
Have You Been Injured While Working for a Railroad Company?
If you or someone you know has suffered an injury from work on a railroad, you need a lawyer with special expertise in FELA law to recover the best compensation you deserve. Our lawyers have such experience, and would be happy to discuss your case with you. To speak with an experienced FELA lawyer in Florida, contact a railroad injury attorney or call toll free (800) 773-6770.
