A cumulative trauma claim under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act arises when a railroad worker sustains an injury that developed gradually over time as a result of repeated exposure to harmful working conditions that the employee is assigned to on the job. This can involve exposure to repetitive motions, excessive force vibrations, heavy lifting, awkward positions, walking over uneven surfaces etc, rather than there being one specific date of injury or one single identifiable incident. Common examples of this, in Engine Service, are whole body vibrations from the locomotive, failure to install safe seats on locomotives, riding over rough track, and slack action. In Train Service it may manifest itself involving the throwing of switches, tying hand brakes, walking on uneven and improperly compacted ballast, as well as slack action. For Maintenance of Way workers it may involve lifting and carrying heavy ties or rail, throwing improperly maintained switches, or walking on uneven ballast. Injuries from these types of exposure slowly worsens over time until it simply becomes too difficult and painful to continue working and the employee finds himself or herself facing significant surgery because of injury to nerves, ligaments, disc, joints, muscles, etc. The Railroad's position is that the only causes of these types of injuries are old age or a pre-existing condition that the person was born with. The truth is that the Railroads in virtually every craft has known for years that their failure to provide a reasonably safe place to work, safe, proper and suitable tools and equipment, and to properly train their employees have resulted in their workers sustaining serious cumulative trauma injuries.

Studies on Cumulative Trauma

As far back as 1972 reports were published regarding cumulative trauma arising from locomotive seating. In 1980, a study was conducted by the AAR that discussed lower back injuries sustained by Engineers. In 1998, the FRA documented that improper seating in the locomotive cab was a significant cause of railroad worker injuries. Studies have also documented the cause of severe back, neck, shoulder, and knee injuries sustained by Maintenance of Way workers who were required to perform heavy, difficult and awkward repetitive work without enough help, proper tools and overall safe working conditions.

The Statute of Limitations on a Cumulative Trauma Case

The Statute of Limitations on a Cumulative Trauma Case

Employees injured on a specific date of accident, under FELA, have three years from the date of the accident to either settle the case or file a lawsuit without the claim becoming time barred. With a cumulative trauma case where there is no specific accident date, the lawsuit must be filed within three years of when the employee knew or should have known that they had an injury caused by their railroad work. In that regard, railroads will look over the employee’s medical records literally with a microscope to see if a doctor had informed them that their injuries were caused by their work at the railroad or that the employee told the doctor it was in fact caused by their railroad work and that was three or more years prior to the claim being asserted. Since cumulative trauma claims do not occur on a specific date but rather occur over the years due to years of repetitive trauma, determining when the three year statute of limitations begins and expires requires a detailed examination of the medical records and factual analysis of the circumstances of the case and it is therefore, very important to contact Designated Legal Counsel that is experienced in this field to obtain advice.

Kaplan Law Corporation can always be reached on our toll-free line at (800) 5-KAPLAN at no obligation for a free consultation.

JAY A. KAPLAN
KAPLAN LAW CORPORATION
Union Approved F.E.L.A. Attorneys

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