--- title: FELA Attorney's Blog | Exploring the rights and issues of railroad workers | FELA recovery (2) description: FELA recovery | Exploring the rights and issues of railroad workers for on job injuries and whistleblower claims and those of injured passengers. (2) --- [![fw-fela-logo.png](https://www.felaattorney.com/hs-fs/hubfs/fw-fela-logo.png?width=504&name=fw-fela-logo.png "fw-fela-logo.png")](https://www.felaattorney.com/) ![lpheader-blog-header.jpg](https://www.felaattorney.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LP_Headers/lpheader-blog-header.jpg?width=1024&name=lpheader-blog-header.jpg "lpheader-blog-header.jpg") ## FELA Attorney's Blog | Exploring the rights and issues of railroad workers and rail passengers ## [Asst Signalman Wins $3 Million in FELA Injury Suit Against LIRR](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/asst-signalman-wins-3-million-in-fela-injury-suit-against-lirr) Posted by [Marc Wietzke](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/author/marc-wietzke) on Oct 17, 2014 12:18:00 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![railroad signalman wins $3 million in FELA injury suit LIRR](https://www.felaattorney.com/hs-fs/file-1880365132-jpg/LIRR/IMG_3966.jpg?width=326&name=IMG_3966.jpg "railroad signalman wins $3 million in FELA injury suit LIRR")Close to three years ago, John*, 34, was an assistant signalman with three years on the job with LIRR. One morning while running innerduct under a platform, a large piece of concrete debris – a leftover from an old platform – broke off pinching his right wrist and trapping him under the platform. A coworker had to lift the concrete off his wrist. What he thought at the time was an injury he could work through and recover from, turned out to be career ending. John reported his injury and was temporarily removed from service pending a visit to an orthopedist the next day. That began 22 months of referrals to specialists and four separate EMG studies, because John developed clawing of his ring and pinky fingers. With that also came 50% loss grip strength in his right, dominant, hand. The railroad medically disqualified him from his job 10 months later. This month a jury ordered LIRR to pay John more than $3 million for his injury after it was revealed that the railroad knew about the old hazardous concrete but didn’t make any effort to remove it. What is remarkable about this case is how the verdict numbers break down: [Read More](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/asst-signalman-wins-3-million-in-fela-injury-suit-against-lirr) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/asst-signalman-wins-3-million-in-fela-injury-suit-against-lirr#comments-listing) Topics: [LIRR](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/lirr), [FELA v Workers' Comp](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-v-workers-comp), [FELA recovery](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-recovery), [lost wages](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/lost-wages), [FELA injury](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-injury), [how much is my case worth?](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/how-much-is-my-case-worth) ## [What Happens When You Report An On Job Injury To The Railroad?](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/what-the-railroad-does-behind-your-back-could-hurt-worse-than-your-injury) Posted by [Marc Wietzke](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/author/marc-wietzke) on Aug 20, 2014 4:24:19 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![when you get hurt on the railroad](https://www.felaattorney.com/hs-fs/hub/312738/file-1485313759.jpg "when you get hurt on the railroad")When you get hurt at work on the railroad, what the company does behind your back could be worse than your injury. Take for example, a shoulder injury or knee injury, both common injuries for railroad workers:   You busted your shoulder or twisted your knee on the job and your first thought was probably, ***“How am I going to work?”*** The railroad’s first thought was ***“How can we minimize this guy’s injury?”*** >   You reported your injury because you were too hurt to work, not because you wanted the railroad to pay up. Reporting it was the right thing to do. The railroad will discipline you if you don’t report an injury. But from the railroad’s perspective, “paying up” is always where this road leads and it’s prepared for court before you even decide to seek a shoulder surgery settlement or sue for your knee replacement. In this post we’ll look at what happens inside the railroad when you report an on-the-job injury. **Here are four important behind-the-scenes moves you should be on the look out for if you filed an injury claim:** [Read More](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/what-the-railroad-does-behind-your-back-could-hurt-worse-than-your-injury) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/what-the-railroad-does-behind-your-back-could-hurt-worse-than-your-injury#comments-listing) Topics: [FAQs on the job injuries](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/faqs-on-the-job-injuries), [Checklist for hiring railroad lawyer](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/checklist-for-hiring-railroad-lawyer), [how to hire a railroad lawyer](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/how-to-hire-a-railroad-lawyer), [Rights of Railroad workers](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/rights-of-railroad-workers), [Basic steps to filing a fela lawsuit](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/basic-steps-to-filing-a-fela-lawsuit), [FELA recovery](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-recovery), [how to file your own injury claim](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/how-to-file-your-own-injury-claim), [FELA injury](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-injury) ## [When Does the Railroad Have to Pay After Trial?](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/when-does-the-railroad-have-to-pay-after-trial) Posted by [Marc Wietzke](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/author/marc-wietzke) on Aug 7, 2014 5:05:19 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![FELA injury when do you get paid after trial](https://www.felaattorney.com/hs-fs/hub/312738/file-1397106112.jpg?width=326&name=file-1397106112.jpg "FELA injury when do you get paid after trial")When a client asks me, ‘When does the railroad have to pay after trial?” I have to say, “It depends, because the fight isn’t over after the verdict.” You’ve probably seen this yourself. You hear your buddy won a couple of million suing the railroad, but he hasn’t seen a dime yet. Most think that once the jury has spoken, the railroad has to pay up. Wrong. In fact, that is where the railroads really excel, because they enter into a starvation mode, where their financial resources come to bear in an effort to starve you out. **Here’s how:** There are generally two additional bites at the apple after a successful verdict. Take my client with a devastating eye injury. [He was awarded $3.75 million dollars](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/railroad-worker-receives-375-million-for-eye-injury) and hasn’t seen a penny. [Read More](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/when-does-the-railroad-have-to-pay-after-trial) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/when-does-the-railroad-have-to-pay-after-trial#comments-listing) Topics: [Basic steps to filing a fela lawsuit](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/basic-steps-to-filing-a-fela-lawsuit), [eye injury](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/eye-injury), [FELA recovery](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-recovery), [compensatory damages](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/compensatory-damages), [FELA injury](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-injury) ## [Hurt on railroad: How much is my case worth?](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/hurt-on-railroad-how-much-is-my-case-worth) Posted by [Marc Wietzke](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/author/marc-wietzke) on May 2, 2014 12:12:00 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![DSCN1300](https://www.felaattorney.com/hs-fs/hub/312738/file-711845488.jpg?width=324&name=file-711845488.jpg)If you’ve been hurt on the railroad your first question is probably, do I have a case? Once you decide the answer is yes, almost assuredly, the next question is how much is my back injury claim worth? How much is my finger injury worth? How much is my knee injury case worth? They’re important questions, because you want to make sure that the value of what you could recover from a settlement or trial is worth your time and sharing a portion of any recovery on legal fees. There isn’t a calculator where you can enter an equation like: **Shoulder injury x 2 surgeries x 4 months off the job** **=**** Y dollars   ** But you can get some idea of the worth of your claim by looking at several factors that we’ll take a look at in this post. [Read More](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/hurt-on-railroad-how-much-is-my-case-worth) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/hurt-on-railroad-how-much-is-my-case-worth#comments-listing) Topics: [FAQs on the job injuries](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/faqs-on-the-job-injuries), [Basic steps to filing a fela lawsuit](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/basic-steps-to-filing-a-fela-lawsuit), [eye injury](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/eye-injury), [FELA recovery](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-recovery) ## [Railroad Worker Receives $3.75 million For Eye Injury](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/railroad-worker-receives-375-million-for-eye-injury) Posted by [Marc Wietzke](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/author/marc-wietzke) on Apr 3, 2014 12:40:00 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![spike_puller could prevent injury caused by using claw bar and half washer](https://www.felaattorney.com/hs-fs/hub/312738/file-634297343.jpg?width=301&name=file-634297343.jpg "spike_puller could prevent injury caused by using claw bar and half washer")Three weeks after his 30th birthday, my client started working for the railroad as a temporary employee in the track department. He had previously worked for the county as a tree climber and for Poland Spring delivering water. Six months later, on his first day as a permanent employee, my client, whom I'll call "John", was pulling pin spikes in the tunnels using a claw bar and a half washer, a technique created by the railroad. It was a tough spike, and he and his partner did what they had been trained to do, muscle it out.  But the spike head was corroded, and the heat-treated washer popped through in an instant. Less than half a second later, John was on his knees clutching his right eye. In the ambulance and at the hospital, John was told they did not expect to save the vision in that eye. After the accident, John learned the railroad had a hydraulic spike puller which could have been used in lieu of the manual technique.   At the hospital he learned he had a ruptured globe. When the washer hit John’s eye, it sliced it open from 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock, which led to five surgeries, 29 weeks lost work and a net loss wage loss of $27,000. [Read More](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/railroad-worker-receives-375-million-for-eye-injury) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/railroad-worker-receives-375-million-for-eye-injury#comments-listing) Topics: [eye injury](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/eye-injury), [verdict](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/verdict), [FELA recovery](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-recovery) [Previous](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-recovery/page/1) [All posts](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/all) ### Subscribe to Email Updates ### Recent Posts ### Posts by Topic - [FELA injury (31)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-injury) - [FAQs on the job injuries (24)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/faqs-on-the-job-injuries) - [Basic steps to filing a fela lawsuit (20)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/basic-steps-to-filing-a-fela-lawsuit) - [Railroad safety issues (19)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/railroad-safety-issues) - [FELA recovery (15)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/fela-recovery) - [whistleblower (13)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/whistleblower) - [Rights of Railroad workers (11)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/rights-of-railroad-workers) - [settlements (10)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/settlements) - [reporting safety concerns (8)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/reporting-safety-concerns) - [how to file a claim against railroad (7)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/how-to-file-a-claim-against-railroad) - [verdict (7)](https://www.felaattorney.com/blog/topic/verdict) - [how much is my case worth? 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