Refreshing words from FRA Administrator Joe Szabo here at the National Mediation Board’s Passenger Railroad Conference in Philadelphia. Joe complimented Amtrak President Boardman for disconnecting manager compensation from injury statistics. Joe noted that while this will result in an increase in reported injuries, it will provide the FRA with the type of accurate information necessary
FELA Injuries
How To Deal With Railroad Claim Agents
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in FELA Injuries
Joe Coleman from Seattle asks whether union reps can be present when a worker gives a statement to a railroad claims agent. The real question is, why would a railroad worker NOT have his union rep present?
No way can there be ever be a level playing field between a claim agent and an injured…
The Fatal Consequences of Railroad Retaliation
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in FELA Injuries
Here’s a true story that should give any railroad supervisor pause. The fact is, you never know where an act of retaliation will lead. After you commit an act of retaliation, you simply can not control how it reverberates in people’s lives. And while all retaliation hurts, it can kill as well. It’s like a…
Subcontracting Is No Escape From FELA and FRSA Liability
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act, FELA Injuries
Rail union rep Joe Coleman from Seattle has a question about the FELA liability of railroads who contract out work. His General Foreman recently hired subcontractors to band freight car loads that had shifted due to broken banding, and when challenged tried to justify it by arguing that since the subcontractors are self-insured, the railroad…
FRA Gives CSX Last Chance to Stop Intimidation and Retaliation
By Charlie Goetsch on
Some people just don’t get it. CSX Transportation managers definitely fall into that group. In a lengthy Investigative Report released in March of 2008, the Federal Railroad Administration put CSX on notice that its management culture of harassment and intimidation intended to dissuade employees from reporting injuries had to stop. In response, CSXT made …
A Heart Breaking Railroad Accident
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in FELA Injuries, Railroad Safety
Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Metro-North Railroad worker Kevin McGrath, whose life came to an end on the tracks just west of Rye Station while he was on duty January 9th. Just as every human life is unique, each fatal railroad accident like this is uniquely tragic.
As Kenny’s…