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Straight
Track #261
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A Protected Right &
Responsibility To Help!
Raymond Keane, Attorney
Hoey & Farina, P.C.
keane@hoeyfarina.com |
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On April 20, 1964,
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Black wrote the majority opinion in the case
of Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v.
Virginia ex rel.
Virginia State Bar.
In that decision, he declared, “The First and Fourteenth Amendments
protect the right of the members through their Brotherhood to maintain
and carry out their plan for advising workers who are injured to obtain
legal advice and for recommending specific lawyers.” See 377 U.S. 1
(1964). This decision gave each and every officer and union member the
right to inform another member of his or her union about the Federal
Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) and to recommend union members to
qualified attorneys on the Designated Legal Counsel list.
Justice Black wrote,
“Injured workers or their families often fell prey on the one hand to
persuasive claims adjusters eager to gain a quick and cheap
settlement for their railroad employers, or on the other hand, to
lawyers either not competent to try these lawsuits against the able and
experienced railroad counsel or too willing to settle a case for a quick
dollar.” [377 U.S. 4] These words were written almost a half century
ago, but could have easily been written only yesterday as they still
apply today!
This important
decision protects you from harassment, intimidation, or charges when you
fulfill your moral obligation and the unions’ goal of advising and
helping one another in time of need. The time when that advice or help
is most needed arises at the moment someone is injured or killed while
working on the railroad. It is essential that the injured person has
the benefit of immediate legal advice from Designated Legal Counsel to
protect his or her legal rights and recovery under the law.
Typically,
railroaders will use their local chairmen to address grievances, and the
legislative representatives about safety issues. However, it is just as
important that they are aware of the benefits of Designated Legal
Counsel for legal advice and representation when they are injured. The
need for Designated Legal Counsel all too often comes at a time when
there is tragedy and the immediate need to make life-changing
decisions. Justice Black recognized these circumstances when he
affirmed each and every member’s and officer’s right to advise those in
need about Designated Legal Counsel and to recommend Designated Legal
Counsel.
As a union officer,
it is your right, duty and privilege to be able to recommend your
members to Designated Legal Counsel. I was a railroader for more than
twenty years, and I suffered an on-duty injury. Now as an attorney at
Hoey & Farina, Designated Legal Counsel, I understand and appreciate the
need for sound legal advice and guidance from Designated Legal Counsel.
It is your responsibility to inform Designated Legal Counsel about a
fellow member who may be in need of legal assistance but does not know
where to turn.
As Designated Legal
Counsel, Hoey & Farina, will take the steps necessary to see that the
injured member and his or her family are protected under the law. The
attorneys and staff at Hoey & Farina are here for you and your fellow
members when you need us – 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (888)
425-1212.
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