Railroad injury raises jurisdiction questions

Federal Courts

By Jay S. Judge

Jay S. Judge, a name partner of Judge, James, Hoban & Fisher LLC in Park Ridge, is a defense attorney who specializes in trials, appeals and insurance coverage. Judge graduated with honors from The John Marshall Law School and served as editor-in-chief of the school’s law review.

Posted September 11, 2018 10:59 AM

Today’s case illustrates that while the Federal Employers’ Liability Act stops at the border, a rail worker injured in Canada may nonetheless find relief via a state law negligence action using the Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act, or LIA, as the standard of care.“In this case,” the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals explained, “the FELA does not apply because the accident occurred in Canada, and the FELA has long been held not to apply to accidents outside of the United States. New York …

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