Doyle Dennis Avery LLP and the Youngdahl Firm Brings FELA Suit Against Union Pacific

Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client is a former conductor and switchman for Union Pacific. The initiation of this suit is due to Union Pacific’s alleged negligence under the Federal Employer Liability Act (“FELA”). FELA is designed to protect the rights of railroad employees injured, sickened or killed in the course of their employment.  Union Pacific’s alleged failure to provide the client with a reasonably safe place to work violates FELA and allegedly caused and contributed to the client’s injuries.

           In July 2023, the client fell into a hole while training with a coworker at a site near a Union Pacific yard in El Paso, Texas. Union Pacific’s alleged failure to maintain its rail line and work areas in a reasonably safe manner caused the client significant injuries. The client’s coworker reported the incident to a foreman, and shortly afterward, two managers arrived on the site to photograph the hole. Following the incident, the two managers took the client out to lunch and allegedly encouraged the client not to file a report. Additionally, they allegedly disagreed about letting the client take a day off from the injuries he sustained. The client was initially able to manage the pain with over-the-counter medication but would continue to experience pain and discomfort in the leg. On or about August 11, 2023, the client took time off to rest his knee and then terminated on or about August 28, 2023.

            Union Pacific is allegedly liable under FELA standards for failing to provide the client a reasonably safe place to work and failure to warn the client of unsafe workplace conditions, among other examples of Union Pacific’s alleged negligence, caused the client to sustain life-altering injuries. Before the injury, the client was a non-disabled railroad worker. As a result of his employer’s alleged negligence, he has suffered permanent physical impairment and the ability to work, losing the capacity to earn future wages, which are among the damages from his employer.