FAQ: If my injury is partially my fault, can I still pursue a FELA case?
Answer: Yes, the FELA is what is known as a “purely comparative negligence” statute. This means if a jury finds the railroad and employee both negligent in causing the employee’s injuries, it assigns the percentage the railroad and employees are responsible for the injury and the verdict is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the employee. For example, a couple of years ago we tried a case in which the railroad said our client caused his injuries. The jury heard the evidence and decided our client was 80% responsible for his injuries. The jury found our client’s damages to be $5,000,000.00. The verdict was reduced by the 80% of fault assigned to our client, so our client received a judgment for $1,000,000.00.