FELA Comparative Negligence: How Your Own Fault Affects Recovery

Last updated 21 June 2026

FELA uses pure comparative negligence under 45 U.S.C. §53. That means your own carelessness reduces your recovery in proportion to your share of fault — but it never wipes the claim out entirely. And if the railroad violated a federal safety statute, your fault is not counted at all.

Pure comparative negligence, in plain terms

If a jury finds you 30% at fault, your award is reduced by 30% — you still recover the other 70%. There is no cutoff. This is different from many state injury laws that use “modified” comparative negligence and bar recovery once a plaintiff is 50% or 51% at fault. FELA has no such bar.

The safety-statute exception (the big one)

Section 53 contains a powerful carve-out: if the railroad violated a federal statute enacted for the safety of employees — such as the Locomotive Inspection Act or the Safety Appliance Act — and that violation contributed to the injury, the worker’s contributory negligence is disregarded entirely. The award is not reduced at all.

How railroads use comparative fault

Because any percentage of worker fault lowers the payout, railroads often argue the worker contributed — by not following a rule, by haste, or by “assuming the risk.” Two points matter:

• Assumption of risk is abolished under 45 U.S.C. §54 — doing the job is not accepting the danger.
• Following the railroad’s direction or working short-handed is not automatically the worker’s fault; that can be the railroad’s negligence.

Why it matters in negotiation

Comparative fault is one of the main levers in a FELA negotiation. Strong evidence that the railroad’s negligence — not the worker’s — caused the injury both raises liability and shrinks the fault discount. Our calculator applies the pure comparative rule so you can see the effect of different fault percentages.

Related FELA & railroad-injury guides

• FELA Explained (45 U.S.C. §51)
• What Is Negligence Under FELA?
• Locomotive Inspection Act Claims
• FELA Damages Explained
• The FELA Settlement Process
• Proving Railroad Negligence

Reviewed by the TrainAccidentLawyer.us editorial team

Published by Mustafa Bilgic. Our guides are written for general education and fact-checked against primary U.S. sources — the Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the text of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (45 U.S.C. §§51–60). We cite institutions, not anonymous “experts.” This page is informational and is not legal advice.