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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Commercial Law

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, December 12, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will discuss the specialized knowledge needed to litigate and settle Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) claims.

Faculty

Richard N. Shapiro
Partner
Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Mr. Shapiro has practiced as a Virginia Beach personal injury lawyer for over three decades in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification of Massachusetts and has litigated injury cases throughout the southeastern United States. He co-authored Railroad Health & Safety; a Litigator’s Guide which appears in a leading law encyclopedia, “American Jurisprudence Trials." He has written and lectured on evidence law at legal conferences.

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Fred Bremseth
President
Bremseth Law Firm, PC

Mr. Bremseth is among the nation’s elite trial lawyers. He began his remarkable career in 1978 and has continuously represented injury and death claims for over forty years. Mr. Bremseth has consistently won unparalleled jury verdicts and settlements for his clients in a career devoted to representing injured railroad employees under the FELA and other seriously injured individuals. He has successfully handled catastrophic injury cases in state and federal courts around the country including: quadriplegia, paraplegia, amputations, brain damage, severe spinal injury, disfigurement, chemical exposure, asbestos claims, and wrongful death cases. In addition to his successful FELA practice, Mr. Bremseth has achieved significant verdicts and settlements in other types of cases involving auto collisions, medical negligence, and product liability involving birth defects due to defective drugs. He is a member of the Montana and Minnesota Bar Associations and has been admitted in United States District Courts in Montana, Minnesota, Colorado, North Dakota and California, and the United States Courts of Appeals for 8th, 7th, 4th, 9th Districts, as well as the U.S. Court of Claims. Mr. Bremseth is regularly admitted Pro Hac Vice (by special appearance), in Courts throughout the country. He is a member of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys (ARLA), the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the American Bar Association and the Minnesota Association for Justice. Mr. Bremseth is a founding member of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and is also a life-time member of the Roscoe Pound Foundation and a Sustaining Sponsor of the Civil Justice Foundation.

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Description

The railroad industry and railroad injuries are subject to complex federal regulations and safety standards. If that were not enough, FELA treats certain kinds of state regulations as "statutes" for purposes of FELA liability. Moreover, attorneys must also understand the interplay between leave under FELA and leave under other federal and state statutes.

Negligence is the most hotly contested issue in any FELA case and may require experts. The burdens of proof and standards of causation are somewhat modified under FELA. One of the most important pieces of evidence is the injury report. How and when the report is completed will be closely scrutinized.

Whether the railroad's violation of any safety statute played a role in the injury will also be a hotly contested issue since any violation would prevent a finding of contributory negligence. Thus, investigation of the incident is critical.

Listen as this panel of FELA experts discusses litigating FELA claims and the unique knowledge required to navigate this complex area.

Outline

  1. Who is covered by FELA, & how FELA applies in unusual situations
    1. Employees
    2. Statutory employees (imputed employee)
    3. Hotel Lodging Suppled by RR
    4. Van & Taxi Transport by RR
    5. Injuries on Non-RR owned properties
  2. Investigating the accident and gathering evidence
    1. Obtaining injury reports, federal regulation
    2. FOIA’s, subpoenas, Employees, Investigators, FRA Inspectors
    3. Surveillance video/dashcam video
    4. GIS maps, drones, Archive.org
  3. Statutes of limitation
    1. Traumatic injuries
    2. Occupational disease
    3. Federal “discovery rule”
    4. Case examples, case precedents
  4. Selection of Filing Jurisdiction & Venue--recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions
    1. Personal jurisdictional vs. venue requisites
    2. Railroads-table of key information
    3. U.S. Supreme Court decisions impacting forum selection
  5. State statutes and regulations for strict liability
    1. 45 USC section 53
    2. 45 USC section 54a
  6. Proving Negligence in FELA
    1. Company documents and records:
    2. Industry standards and publications
    3. Federal Statutes
  7. Experts-Selection and Preparation
    1. Craft specific
    2. Choosing and preparing
  8. Medical causation
    1. in whole or in part
    2. no apportionment
  9. Retaliation claims and related issues:
    1. Whistleblower 20109,
    2. elements of proof
    3. forum choices - time issues
    4. damages
  10. Negotiating settlements
    1. claims agent -not defense attorney
    2. seniority issues
    3. liens, insurance, RRB issues
  11. Damages:
    1. Damages in injury claims
  12. Damages
    1. Damages in death claims

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What notices are required before filing suit?
  • What is the standard of negligence under FELA?
  • How is causation proved?