CSX Conductor Falls on Ballast – F.E.L.A. Claim

One recent case that I am working on is the F.E.L.A. claim for a CSX conductor who was hurt in Pennsylvania (PA) while walking alongside the train. The loose ballast rock gave way causing my client to fall down an embankment. It was dark and rainy at the time of the incident. It was a good thing that my client reported his injuries immediately to the supervisor that day. Otherwise, the failure to report the injury can mess up the FELA claim against the railroad for its fault causing an on-duty injury.

The reason that the railroad worker was walking the train was a defective hot box detector. A hotbox detector is a wayside infrared sensing instrument which is used to identify things like overheated bearings. This device, at the location in question, had had some prior problems. The upshot was that the safety device for railroad operation was not working and caused my client to have to get out and move around in the difficult rocky terrain on the side of the train.

There are specific rules about how the ballast rock is supposed to be in the walking areas where a conductor/trainman may have to walk alongside the train. Often, these areas are not in the kind of condition they should be. There are industry standards and each railroad company has rules from their maintenance of way/engineering department about the size of the rock and the profile of the ballast rock alongside the rail. There is generally not supposed to be any drainage problem or vegetation in these areas where train crew have to get down and walk alongside the train.

On this particular FELA case, the client ended up having back pain and right foot pain. He was diagnosed with a lumbar and foot sprain initially. As he continued to have pain in his low back and hip, he ended up seeing an orthopaedist. An orthopaedist is a doctor specializing in bones and muscles, who ordered x-rays and other testing to confirm the diagnosis of lumbar radiculopathy. Radiculopathy means that the nerves that connect the back to the lower extremities (hips and legs) are sending pain signals through the nerves. My client had to have physical therapy and sciatic nerve block injections. Another kind of test which is done in this kind of case is an EMG/NCV study. In a nerve conduction test (NCV), where needles are placed in the leg and testing is done to see how nerves respond to electric stimulation. Ultimately, this client had to have an MRI which showed a central disc herniation at his L5/S1 level in his low back. This kind of problem is often called sciatic neuropathy. Ultimately, the client was put on a permanent lifting restriction which prevented him from returning to his heavy work on the railroad as a conductor. In essence, he was disqualified or knocked out of his old railroad job for the rest of his life as a result of the injury.

This kind of situation happens every day in railroad work. If you or a loved one is an engineer, conductor, trainman or works in another craft on the railroad and gets hurt on the job, it is important that you contact a competent FELA attorney as soon as possible.

Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits two injury law blogs: Virginia Beach Injuryboard & Norfolk Injuryboard, and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects.