What is a Cumulative Trauma or Repetitive Injury?
Some FELA injuries do not happen in “one event”. Instead, the injury occurs over time; it is, in essence, a continued wear and tear of the body. These types of injuries are classified as cumulative injuries. They can range from as small as carpal tunnel injuries to spinal injuries such as herniated disks from whole body vibration. Clearly, you specifically need a railroad injury attorney to handle this type of claim as often the treating physician does not make the “connection” of the injury to the working condition because the doctors are not aware of the vocational aspects of the particular job requirements of the railroad employee. Additionally, the statute of limitations can almost always be an issue in these types of claims as the employee has “notice” that they have an injury but they do not move forward at the time they have the notice.
