Norfolk Southern Corp. Ordered to Pay Damages to NC Man For Workplace Injuries

8/14/2011
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
Comments (0)

Norfolk Southern Corp. Ordered to Pay Damages to NC Man for Workplace Injuries

A federal agency has ordered Norfolk Southern Corp. to pay more $122,000 in compensatory and punitive damages and attorney's fees as a result of showing reckless disregard for a former employee's rights under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. According to the Virginian-Pilot, the man was injured in 2009 while doing tack maintenance in Jamestown, North Carolina (NC). He initially kept the incident to himself because he feared adverse actions, but he did file a report when he agravated the injury while doing more track work.

When the employee reported the injuries, NS supervisors accused him of making false statements and fired him on those -- as it proved -- spurious grounds. The worker then complained to the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the agency determined the railroad violated his rights under the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA. The act provides every railroad worker the right to report an injury without fear of retaliation or intimidation. This relatively new law is intended to prevent the abusive practice of big railroads of threatening the jobs of workers who report accidents. Such intimidation tactics include holding lengthy investigations whose real purpose is to find evidence the company can use to fire an employee who points out safety problems.

According to OSHA, Norfolk Southern maintained an appearance of having an exemplary safety record and won a record 22 straight E.H. Harriman Gold Medal Rail Safety Awards for ebing the nation's largest line-haul railroad with the lowest number of reportable on-the-job injuries and death, in part, by retaliating against and intimidating employees. Punitive damages awarded to the former employee totaled $75,000. FRSA authorize punitive damages up to $250,000, and OSHA has awarded punitive damages of $75,000 or more in 13 cases since 2008.

An injured railroad worker should hold the negligent employer responsible for workplace injuries with the assistance of North Carolina FELA accident lawyers. If railroad officials try to harm your career just for getting hurt, you have rights and should report the threats to OSHA through a lawyer who knows the federal railroad law. Note you only have 6 months from the adverse action to make the claim, far less than the 3 years to sue for the FELA injury case itself.

To learn more about the recoveries you or a loved one can receive from a railroad work accident that results in serious injuries, check out our case results in such lawsuits.

LC

Category: Railroad Injury/FELA

Labels: accident attorney compensatory damages injured Jamestown lawyer NC Norfolk Southern Corp. North Carolina OSHA Personal Injury punitive serious injuries Shapiro va Virginia

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and who have handled hundreds of railroad worker injury and general railroad injury cases. Please take a few moments to review our railroad injury case results involving FELA and other rail employee protection laws.

We serve every area of North Carolina, including the Outer Banks, Nags Head and the western mountains, as well as all the cities and counties in between. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been included among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and we have been named one of the best Best Injury Law Firms in North Carolina for personal injury law since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, Rick and Jim have been listed in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and our firm has the highest rating of AV from national lawyer ranking organization Martindale-Hubbell. That means we have a reputation for demonstrating preeminent legal skill.

We would like to send you one of our free reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, including the Dos and Don'ts When Injured at a Railroad: A Railroad Worker's FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Agents Won't Tell You (But You Must Know).

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer a free, initial confidential injury case consultation, so call us toll free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can return your call promptly.

Elizabeth City, NC Personal Injury Attorneys
North Carolina (NC) Personal Injury Lawyers
Specializing in North Carolina Wrongful Death & Injury Law

There are no comments.

Search Our Site

Get help Now!

Practice Areas

Norfolk Southern Corp. Ordered to Pay Damages to NC Man for Workplace Injuries

Post a comment