Personal Injury Report: Darned if you do, but a bigger “darned” if you don’t
Personal Injury Reports are truly a thing of mixed messages. The rules of most, if not all, railroads require injured workers to complete a Personal Injury Report (PIR) or Accident Report, by whatever name, as soon as practicable, or within very specific timelines, following an injury. If an injured worker fails to complete a PIR, the rules provide for discipline of the employee, which could range from reprimand to discipline points to suspension or termination. That's the message on the one hand.
On the other hand is another message, a very opposite one, as employees are strongly discouraged from filing a PIR. They are reminded of the importance of maintaining the railroad's safety record and keeping down the number of FRA reportable injuries. The words of "discouragement" are often quite strong, quite harsh and sometimes, quite untrue, with threats of termination, interference with retirement eligibility and benefits, and interference with health insurance if a PIR is filed. These threats strike the heart of a railroader with a strong work ethic and stronger allegiances to his or her responsibilities to spouse and kids.
As above, you're darned if you do, but a bigger "darned" may await you if you don't. Don’t be fooled. The railroad cannot fire you for filing a Personal Injury Report, but it can, and very likely will, fire you if you are injured on the job and don't file a report, especially if you later try to make a claim for the injury. Adding to the "darned if you don't" is the important role PIRs have in the claims process for injured railroaders. The PIR can sometimes make or break a claim and at all times they can have a profound effect on the claim. Among other things, the PIR establishes a record of the injury in the injured employee’s own words close to the time of the injury. It puts the railroad on notice that an injury has occurred. This gives the railroad the opportunity to investigate the incident and takes away the "this is a non-reported injury that we don't even know for sure happened" argument from the railroad.
Because so much depends on the PIR, because it is completed under duress and pressure, and because it is done right after an injury when the employee is in pain and trying hard just to cope with the traumatic event, the PIR is often seen as a negative by the railroader. It need not be. If a rail worker is aware of his or her medical privacy rights under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act) and his or her rights under FELA, and knows what is necessary to support a FELA claim, i.e., negligence on the part of the railroad, and what the do's and don'ts are in completing a PIR, the report can very much be a positive for the railroader and a negative for the railroad.
The questions on the PIR form vary from railroad to railroad, but there are a few basic questions the injured railroader will likely be required to answer. Those questions are important ones. One of those questions will be: how did the injury occur? Here, the answer is simple. The injured worker should just explain what took place.
Another key question: what caused the accident/incident? Or seeking the same information, but in different words, the form may ask the worker to identify and describe any defects involved in the injury. The intent of either is the same, the importance of either is the same. Keeping in mind that the railroad must be at fault for the injured worker to be able to collect a claim, this is the place on the form for the worker to establish that the railroad was at fault. Think of, and write down, anything that had any role in causing or contributing to cause the injury: any unsafe working condition, any unsafe equipment, any unsafe tool, any unsafe work method. Railroaders need to think in terms of the railroad's responsibility to furnish them a reasonably safe place to work. In trying to think of defects, the railroader should think not of how the working conditions usually are, but the way they should be. Anything that makes for the work place to be less than reasonably safe (tools, equipment, work methods, etc.) that might have had some part in causing the injury, should be listed on the PIR as a defect.
The PIR form will also ask the injured employee to describe any injuries. Here it is essential that any part of the body that has been injured to any degree be written down. Many an injury that seemed minor, even trivial, at the time the PIR was completed, has worsened, or in some way, developed complications making it a major injury. If an injury is not listed on the PIR, it may be difficult to claim damages for that injury later. A rule of thumb: write down any part of the body that is injured, regardless of how insignificant that injury may seem.
As you complete the PIR, you may find yourself in the company of a number of railroad officials, each eager, even pushy, to help you with the form. Do not accept their help or allow them any input as to what is written on the form. Complete the form on your own or with the assistance of a union representative, someone you know to have your best interests at heart. Also, do not complete the PIR while you are in so much pain you cannot concentrate or while you are on pain medications that could impair your thought processes. In those circumstances, the PIR will have to wait. If an official puts pressure on you to go ahead with the form, contact your union representative for assistance. Once the form is completed, keep a copy for your records.
Soon after the PIR is filed, the railroad will act like the next step in the process is to give a statement. Understand this: the PIR is all that you are required to do under the rules. You are not required to give a statement of any kind, written or tape recorded, to the railroad. It may be necessary to give a statement at a later time in order to settle your claim, but you should never give a statement unless you talk first with a union representative or an attorney experienced in handling FELA claims.
The Hubbell Law Firm and most other attorneys who are designated by any of the railroad unions will gladly advise injured railroad workers of their rights under FELA at no charge or obligation. As a further service, attorneys of the Hubbell Law Firm will counsel injured railroad workers on Personal Injury Reports, how to complete the form and what pitfalls to watch for. The same free counsel is available concerning the giving of statements to railroad claim agents. This counsel, the Hubbell Law Firm, is only a phone call away.
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