FELA AND RAIL SAFETY: A RESPONSE TO BABCOCK AND OLDFATHER, THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT IN RAILROAD SAFETY

In "The Role of the Federal Employers' Liability Act in Railroad Safety", Babcock & Oldfather (this issue of Transportation Law Journal, pp 381-399), the authors argue that the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) provides a greater incentive for railroads to provide a safe working environment than would the state workers' compensation systems, which cover virtually all other workers. To bolster their contention that FELA is appropriate for the railroad industry, they purport to demonstrate that the industry's safety record is poor. In fact, the two major premises of Babcock & Oldfather are incorrect. The railroad industry's safety record is far better than they suggest and is indeed a good and consistently improving one. Moreover, FELA does not provide a superior safety incentive to no-fault systems: if anything, it is inferior. This article addresses the contentions made in the article by Babcock & Oldfather about rail safety and FELA.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: https://www.library.northwestern.edu/find-borrow-request/requests-interlibrary-loan/lending-institutions.html
• Authors:
  • Saphire, D
• Publication Date: 1991

Media Info

• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: p. 401-413
• Serial:
  • Transportation Law Journal
  • Publisher: University of Denver College of Law
  • ISSN: 0049-450X
  • Serial URL: https://www.law.du.edu/transportation-law-journal

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Impacts; Investments; Occupational safety; Railroads; Safety; Trend (Statistics); Workers compensation
• Identifier Terms: Federal Employers Liability Act
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00611844
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1991 12:00AM