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Straight
Track #245
| If Tomorrow Never Comes
Frank Van Bree, Of Counsel
Hoey & Farina
vanbree@hoeyfarina.com
888.425.1212 |
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The on-duty death of a railroader is sad and a tragedy.
One of the saddest things to follow is a widow who has no idea of what
to do next.
Her husband never told her how dangerous his job could be. Her husband
never told her what to do if he were killed or seriously injured at
work. She'd never heard of the Federal Employers' Liability Act (“FELA”)
or that it would be necessary to prove in a court of law that the
railroad had done something wrong to cause her husband's death. She
thought that some compensation law would automatically provide her with
a check so that she and their children could go on with their lives.
She never heard that she should hire a lawyer to protect her rights and
perhaps file an immediate lawsuit so that the evidence surrounding her
husband's death could be preserved by court order. Oh, there were a few
well meaning friends and relatives there to tell her that if she wanted
to hire a lawyer, they knew a “good one.” But she never knew about
Designated Legal Counsel. So when Designated Legal Counsel approached
her and offered to help, she only saw them as vultures, pouncing on her
at the most inappropriate time. She turned them away and let in the
railroad. There was no independent investigation done and the accident
scene was cleaned. The railroad offered its sympathy with regards to her
husband's tragic death which he accidentally caused himself. And when
the dust settled, the railroad was gone, the family in financial ruin,
left only to wonder, “How could this have happened?”
Difficult Subject Matter
Could this happen to your spouse? Have you sat down and discussed with
your spouse what is to be done if you are killed on the job or are
seriously injured and in the hospital?
This is not a pleasant topic. Most of you want to avoid thinking about
it, let alone discussing it. You have read it here before, you may have
heard us discuss it at a Union meeting, or you may have attended one of
our Family Seminars. But I'll bet that most of you haven't done it and
thought, “Well, maybe tomorrow.”
You owe it to your family to inform them, today, of how dangerous your
job is and what your wishes are if you are killed or so seriously
injured you are unable to make decisions for yourself. I know - it's not
going to happen to you – you are always careful and the most safety
conscious guy out there. Forty or so of your fellow rails had that same
thought when they went to work one day last year. But they didn't come
home that day or ever again.
What Your Spouse Should Know
Start with the basics. Describe in detail how you do you job so that
your spouse knows how dangerous it is and how seriously you can be
injured. Tell your spouse about fellow employees who have been injured
and how easily an accident can occur. You might be asking, “Why would I
want to do that and have my spouse worrying all the time while I'm at
work?” Discuss it because your spouse needs to understand just how
serious and important this is.
Tell your spouse that if you are hurt or killed at work that there are
no workers' compensation payments that will sustain the family. Tell
your spouse about the FELA; a negligence based law that has no automatic
payments like workers' comp. Explain that the railroad's negligence must
be established and that it must have caused your injury or death. Also,
explain that the railroad can use any mistake (called negligence) you
may have made in causing your own injury to reduce or eliminate any
money that you may receive for the injury, or your spouse and your
children may receive for your death.
Tell your spouse that as soon as there is an injury or death on the
railroad, a long list of procedures are implemented by the railroad with
the sole purpose of reducing or eliminating altogether the amount of
money it may have to pay out. The railroad's trained and experienced
personnel set out to develop facts that will demonstrate to a jury, if
necessary, that it was not negligent in causing your injury or death, or
that you were the cause (by careless or negligent behavior) of your own
injury.
Explain that if you are injured, you may receive benefits from the
Railroad Retirement Board, a government agency, not an insurance
company, but that they will be paid only for a time, not forever.
Explain that you should have a private disability insurance policy to
replace your missing income because the railroad will not pay you while
you are off. Your union may have an insurance program or you can
purchase one of these policies from one of several companies who write
disability policies. Some policies pay death benefits.
I hope that you see by this discussion that injury or death requires
experienced legal representation. The railroad is in control of the work
place where the injury or death occurred and any rolling stock or other
equipment that may have been involved. An immediate inspection of the
premises and/or equipment is vital to your case. For this reason it may
be necessary to file a lawsuit immediately so that the court can order
such an inspection. Without the court order, no attorney has a right to
go on the railroad's property to conduct an investigation. Please
explain to your spouse that she will have to make an immediate decision
to hire legal representation and sign a contract, because without a
signed contract a suit cannot be filed and without a suit an inspection
cannot be held.
Tell you spouse that if you are killed or seriously injured at work to
immediately hire a lawyer, but not just any lawyer, Designated Legal
Counsel - Hoey & Farina. Tell your spouse that hiring a “neighborhood
lawyer” will result in a serious disadvantage. The railroad's lawyers
have years of experience with railroad procedures and operating
practices. The railroad knows how to defend these cases and has the
resources to have an inexperienced lawyer chasing himself around the
block. At Hoey and Farina, most of us have experience working for the
railroad and all of us have years of experience effectively representing
railroaders and their families. I hope you already have one of our train
magnets holding up your refrigerator. Let your spouse know should a
tragedy occur she should call us at the toll-free number listed on the
magnet. We are always available any time of the day or night to help.
Hoey & Farina is also available to conduct Family Seminars where all of
these matters are discussed, with other railroaders and their families,
in a comfortable environment which often makes these difficult, but
necessary discussions easier. If you would like to have Hoey & Farina
conduct a Family Seminar in your area, contact us at (888) 425-1212 or
have one of your local union officers contact us about scheduling a
seminar.
Peace of Mind
Whether it is a one on one conversation with your spouse, or whether
it's at a Family Seminar, you owe it to your family to make sure they
are informed, today! Should tomorrow never come, you know today that
your spouse and family will know what to do and will be o.k.
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