Georgia FELA Lawyers
Georgia railroad pioneers set down the state’s first rails in the 1830s at the beginning of the railroad construction era across the United States. In 1833, railroads started to ship freight and in 1850, the state completed the Chattanooga to Atlanta line. By the time the nation’s railroad building boom was underway in 1850, Georgia had more miles of track than any other state in the South. Since then, hundreds of railroads have operated in Georgia.
As in the other states in the nation, the railroad-building boom was accompanied by mounting numbers of casualties among rail workers. The hard dangerous work of constructing a railroad led to many injuries and deaths.
Common Railroad Injuries in Georgia
Among the many types of injuries common to railroad workers were:
- Broken bones
- Joint injuries
- Crushing injuries
- Disfigurement or dismemberment
- Repetitive motion injuries
- Traumatic injuries to the brain
- Injuries from exposure to toxic substances and fumes
Laws regarding injuries in the workplace were first put in place in state courts in the 1830s and 1840s. In these years and the latter half of the nineteenth century, the courts ruled that a railroad worker injured on the job, in order to collect damages, needed to prove that the injury was the result of the employer’s negligence
By 1900, one in three hundred railroad employees died each year from work injuries. As the number of deaths and injuries grew to epidemic proportions, the public and powerful railway workers’ unions were clamoring for new laws to protect railroad employees. Even President Theodore Roosevelt believed new laws were in order.
In 1908 the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) was passed by Congress. The law enabled railroad workers--who are not covered by workers’ compensation laws--to be compensated for injuries and relatives to be able to collect damages for a worker’s death. This helped to ensure a safer working environment.
Your Georgia FELA Lawyers
Today FELA lawyers in Georgia collect thousands of dollars on behalf of their railroad worker clients. In addition to the types of injuries mentioned above, Georgia FELA attorneys help their clients to be reimbursed by the railroad companies for:
- Lost wages
- Loss of future income
- Pain and suffering
If you or someone you know has been injured while working for the railroad, you should contact a FELA lawyer in Georgia. We are experts in the complex laws of railroad legislation and compensating clients for injuries. We would be happy to discuss your circumstances during a free consultation. For more information or to schedule a free case evaluation, call toll free (800) 773-6770 or send us an email and a FELA law attorney will contact you shortly.
