Cumulative Trauma Disorders

Railroad work is hard work–hard to do in many ways, hard on the body in many ways. Depending on the job, the work pounds the knees of some railroaders, the hips or ankles of others, while other railroaders take the pounding on their backs or necks, shoulders or elbows. Over time - months, years, decades - the pounding of the work takes a toll, causing damage that may last from a short time to a lifetime, damage that the railroader may experience as pain, aching, burning, tenderness, stiffness, weakness, restricted motion, numbness or tingling.

The pounding that railroaders take is something that just goes with the work they do, or so they are told. And frankly, it is true that some pounding to the body is just part of hard, heavy work. Sometimes, though, railroaders seem to take a worse pounding to their bodies than what one would expect with the work. In turn, the damage seems to be worse than one would expect or seems to occur earlier in life. In those cases it may not be the work being done that's causing problems; rather, it may be the way in which the work is being done.

It is been known for years and years that there are right ways and wrong ways for work to be done, and that work done in the wrong way can, and all-too-frequently does, result in what is known as cumulative trauma disorders. Such are not single event or specific date injuries, they are, as the name implies, injuries that result from repeated trauma, cumulatively. These disorders may also be called repetitive motion injuries, repetitive motion disorders, overuse syndromes, regional musculoskeletal disorders, repetitive strain injuries, wear and tear injuries or worn-out body syndromes.

While knowing for years and years about the existence and cause of cumulative trauma disorders, the railroad industry has been slow in its efforts to change its work methods and work environment to make for its employees a reasonably safe place to work, as required by the Federal Employers' Liability Act. The aging part of the railroad's work force is showing that to be a fact, as railroaders in their fifties, or even their forties, are becoming disabled with conditions such as osteoarthritis, spondylosis, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, chondromalacia, degenerative joint disease, degenerative arthritis, myofascial pain syndrome, tendinitis, epicondylitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, impingement syndrome, rotator cuff injury and a host of others, those conditions involving a joint or other area of the body where the worker has not had a significant single-event trauma to cause a disabling condition. All that is apparent as cause of the condition is an accumulation of small injuries or stresses the worker was exposed to as part of his or her job.

For years countless railroaders have endured small injuries and stresses from working in an environment heavily plagued with work methods, practices and procedures, as well as tools and equipment that are directed to getting the work done as expediently and cheaply as possible, without consideration for the men and women performing the work. Those small injuries or stresses occur in many forms, including:

repetitive motion of muscles or joints, doing the motion the same way all the time;
overuse, that is, overloaded or uninterrupted repetitions of an activity or motion without time for the muscle or joint to rest and recover; improper or awkward lifting techniques;
faulty body mechanics; static or sustained posture;
incorrect or unnatural motions or postures;
awkward body positioning;
sustained vibrations of locomotives and track equipment;
use of poorly designed or ergonomically incorrect equipment;
unaccustomed use of a muscle or joint to an extreme; and
repeated stress or pounding to body parts and repeated forceful exertions, to name a few.

Railroaders who have been injured through cumulative trauma from their railroad work have rights to compensation under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, just as if their injuries were from specific incident traumas. As in all FELA claims, it must be shown that the railroad was at fault in causing the small injuries and stresses, which have “accumulated” in causing the disabling condition. Further, in cumulative trauma cases, it’s necessary to rule out other causes of the condition, such as hobbies or other activities done away from the railroad.

Something that is similar and yet dissimilar between cumulative trauma and specific trauma cases has to do with the time period for taking legal action, a period known as the statute of limitations. For single event, specific trauma cases, the statute of limitations under FELA is three (3) years from the date of injury, meaning that an injured railroader, or his or her survivors, have three (3) years from the date of injury to file the appropriate papers in the proper court as a lawsuit. For cumulative trauma cases, there is no specific date of injury, so the statute of limitations is a lot more difficult to figure. In cumulative trauma cases, the statute of limitations is three (3) years from the date the injured worker knew or should have known of the existence of his or her injury and that the cause of the injury was related to his or her work.

Keep in mind, regardless of how strong or how valid your claim may be, failing to act within the statute of limitations time period could well cause the claim to be dismissed. The railroads are very aware of this and when workers file a personal injury claim for cumulative trauma, the worker will be asked to give a recorded statement to a claim agent and possibly complete a Cumulative Trauma Questionnaire. Both the interview with the claim agent and the Cumulative Trauma Questionnaire will be loaded with questions designed to reduce the value of the claim or defeat it completely. If the railroad can show by questioning the worker that the statute of limitations time period has expired, there will be no claim. It is that simple. That in mind, if you are a railroader with a condition you think might possibly be due to your railroad work, the first thing you should do is consult with an attorney experienced in handling cumulative trauma cases for competent advice in pursuing your potential claim.

The Hubbell Law Firm has represented railroad workers aggressively and successfully in all types of cases, including cumulative trauma cases. We will gladly discuss without charge or obligation the facts of your situation to determine whether you have a claim under FELA for cumulative trauma. In the words of a recent caller, “I’ve never had a claim in all my years on the railroad, and I don’t really want one now, but if they wore me out before my time, then they should pay.” We agree. And, so does Congress. That’s why the FELA was put into law. Every railroad worker should be furnished a reasonably safe place to work, with reasonably safe work methods, tools and equipment, so the worker can work safely through his or her work life and enter retirement in a state of musculoskeletal health such that he or she can enjoy the retirement they’ve worked so hard to earn. If the railroad by its negligence causes a worker to develop a physical condition such that the worker is disabled and his or her quality of life is diminished by chronic pain and impairment, the railroad should pay.

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