By John Cooper, FELA Plaintiff’s Attorney in Virginia

The Association of American Railroads has issued a third warning about intentional acts of vandalism in which convenience handles, steps and ladders on Autorack freight rail cars have been sawed through, making the equipment dangerous to use. The group originally alerted railroaders about this safety risk in 2009, but newly vandalized cars have been discovered in 2011.

A vandalized handle on an Autorack rail car

AAR is urging anyone who learns of the vandalism to “”pass it on to all co-workers, loading and unloading personnel, shop personnel, trainmen, contractors and all other personnel that may be working with Autorack equipment.” The organization also advises all crew member to closely inspect any recently added cars or cars returning to service after long rest periods for damage to handles, handholds, steps and ladders.

As a FELA plaintiff’s lawyer based in Virginia (VA) who has represented rail workers injured by inadequate or defective safety equipment, I find it encouraging that the warnings about the intentionally damaged rail cars have come from AAR. The association is the leading trade group for Class I freight railroads — particularly BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific —  and Amtrak. This means all major rail corporations are aware of the danger posed to their employees.

Both the Federal Employers’ Liability Act and the Safety Appliance Act make railroads strictly liable for injuries to and deaths of employees who suffer from accidents caused by defective equipment company supervisors and executives knew or should have known about. In the real world outside the courthouse, then, the federal laws hold railroads responsible for identifying and fixing problems with equipment or, failing that, responsible for compensating victims of the companies’ negligence in making trains, rail cars, tracks and rail yards safer.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is an injury law firm whose attorneys have long histories of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases. Attorneys will our firm have served as chairmen of the Railroad section of the American Association for Justice. One of our attorneys wrote a major attorney’s encyclopedia section on railroad safety litigation. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Our offices are in Virginia Beach and Hampton, Virginia (VA), and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC, and have handled hundreds of railroad injury and FELA cases throughout the eastern United States. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, such as Dos and Don’ts When Injured at a Railroad — Yours FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Won’t Tell You (But You Must Know). We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at (800) 752-0042 before giving any statement or talking to a railroad claims agent. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.