The Source for Railroad Injuries & Whistleblower Protection
Two recent decisions, one from a federal district court and the other from the Administrative Review Board, reject several of the defenses railroads have raised against Federal Rail Safety Act whistleblower retaliation cases.
Adding a FRSA Count to an FELA Complaint is Allowed
In Battenfield v BNSF Railway Company, Burlington Northern failed to prevent…
Just a quick post to let everyone know I now am practicing under my own firm and so have a new email address, namely charlie@gowhistleblower.com My cell number remains the same: 203-376-0526. As always, feel free to direct your Federal Rail Safety Act whistleblower questions and requests for help to me at charlie@gowhistleblower.com
The first federal Federal Rail Safety Act jury trial has resulted in an award of attorney fees based on the highest hourly rate in the history of the District Court. This Decision is important because it confirms that attorneys who successfully prosecute FRSA cases will receive top dollar compensation for all their time and efforts.…
One year ago I tried the first FRSA federal jury trial in the nation for my client Andy Barati. The U.S.District Judge who oversaw that trial now has upheld the jury’s verdict in full. In a 16 page landmark Decision, Judge Janet Bond Arterton rejected the Railroad’s arguments that the jury’s award of maximum punitive…
The law governing Federal Rail Safety Act retaliation complaints just got a whole lot clearer. In a precedent setting decision, a United States Circuit Court of Appeals has resoundingly confirmed the remedial purpose of the FRSA while clarifying the employee-friendly legal standards that apply to all FRSA complaints. As a result, Anthony Araujo v. New …
Griebel v. Union Pacific Railroad is yet another example of rail management’s attempt to circumvent the Federal Rail Safety Act through discipline for “false and misleading” injury reports. After Griebel reported a work-related injury, the Railroad fired him for a “failure to honestly and timely make a report of injury.” A Public Law Board eventually…
Here are some recent developments in the world of the Federal Rail Safety Act.
In Bailey v. Consolidated Rail Corp., ALJ Colleen A. Geraghty found that the Railroad retaliated against the employee due to his reporting safety concerns, and ordered various FRSA make whole remedies. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Decision…
The old English Common Law had a phrase for the argument: “de minimis non curat lex” (“the law does not concern itself with trifles”). But unfortunately for American railroads, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board has emphatically rejected the application of that argument to violations of the Federal Rail Safety Act…
The sad saga of Norfolk Southern’s reckless disregard for the rights of its injured workers continues. You would think that after nearly a dozen adverse Federal Rail Safety Act Findings ordering millions in punitive and other damages, it could not get much worse for Norfolk Southern. And yet it does.
This time, OSHA comes right…
A federal district court has ruled that a General Release for a Federal Employers Liability Act personal injury does not also release a pending Federal Rail Safety Act complaint. In Tagliatela v. Metro North Railroad, 2012 U.S.Dist LEXIS 161835 (D.Conn. Nov. 13, 2012), custodian Ralph Tagliatela was disciplined for the “late reporting” of an…