Section 22.2 Generally

• Library: Tort Law 2016

A. (§22.2) Generally

FELA (Federal Employers’ Liability Act), 45 U.S.C. §§ 51 et seq., governs the relationship between rail carriers and their employees who sustain injuries or death in the course of employment. FELA provides railroad employees a right of action in negligence against their employer.

FELA is a broad remedial statute that must be construed liberally to effectuate its humanitarian purposes. Ackley v. Chicago & N. W. Transp. Co., 820 F.2d 263, 266 (8^th Cir. 1987); Urie v. Thompson, 337 U.S. 163, 180 (1949). In his concurring opinion in Wilkerson v. McCarthy, 336 U.S. 53 (1949), Justice Douglas...