FELA Series

Winter 2000
Volume 107 - No. 4

FELA Series

FELA damages for mental injuries are limited

BLE members often ask whether they can recover damages under the FELA for mental or emotional injuries suffered in an accident. This frequently is the case, for example, when a train is involved in a grade crossing accident.

In 1994, in the case of Consolidated Rail Corp. v. Gottshall, 512 U.S. 532, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a railroad worker may recover damages for such injuries only where the employee can show he or she was within a zone of danger of physical impact. Thus, the question, which must be decided on the facts of a particular case, is whether the employee was within the zone of danger; if he or she was not, then there is no recovery under the FELA.

In the case of Smith v. Union Pacific, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently threw out damages awarded by a jury to a supervisor who suffered from a sleep disorder and accompanying physical and emotional problems, which Smith claimed was caused by a negligently-created rotating schedule, where he worked three 12-hour days and then had three days off.

In ruling for the railroad, the Court found that the work schedule did not constitute a "physical impact" under Gottshall and, therefore, Smith was not placed within a zone of danger of physical impact.

Any questions you may have concerning recovering damages for these injuries should be directed to a BLE Designated FELA Counsel, who will be happy to advise you.

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