What Is Negligence Under FELA? The “Featherweight” Standard

Last updated 21 June 2026

To win a FELA claim you must show the railroad was negligent and that its negligence played a part in your injury. The key is how little you have to prove: under FELA, the railroad is liable if its negligence contributed to the injury “in whole or in part” — even slightly. Lawyers call this the “featherweight” causation standard.

The four building blocks of a FELA negligence claim

1. Duty. The railroad has a non-delegable duty to use reasonable care to provide a reasonably safe workplace, safe tools and equipment, adequate help, and reasonable safety rules.
2. Breach. The railroad failed to meet that duty in some way (unsafe equipment, poor training, unsafe conditions, ignored safety rules).
3. Causation. That failure played a part — even a slight one — in causing the injury.
4. Damages. You suffered harm (medical bills, lost earnings, pain, disability).

The railroad’s duty to provide a reasonably safe workplace

This duty is broad and cannot be handed off to a subcontractor. It includes safe track, ballast, and walkways; properly maintained locomotives and equipment; adequate staffing so a job is not done dangerously short-handed; enforcement of the railroad’s own operating and safety rules; and warnings about known hazards.

Why FELA causation is easier than ordinary negligence

In a typical personal-injury case, a plaintiff must show the defendant’s conduct was a substantial or proximate cause. FELA rejects that. In Rogers, the Court held the test is simply whether the railroad’s negligence “played any part, even the slightest,” in producing the injury. In McBride (2011), the Court confirmed there is no separate “proximate cause” requirement layered on top. This is the single most important reason well-documented FELA claims succeed.

Defenses FELA takes away from the railroad

• Assumption of risk is abolished under 45 U.S.C. §54 — a worker does not “accept” the danger by doing the job.
• The fellow-servant rule is gone — the railroad is responsible for a co-worker’s negligence.
• Contributory negligence no longer bars the claim; it only reduces damages (45 U.S.C. §53), and not even that where a safety statute was violated.

Proving the breach

Negligence is proven with evidence: maintenance and inspection records, the railroad’s own rule book, prior complaints or injuries, OSHA or FRA findings, photographs, and testimony. See our guide on proving railroad negligence for the documents and steps that matter most.

Related FELA & railroad-injury guides

• Proving Railroad Negligence
• FELA Explained (45 U.S.C. §51)
• FELA Comparative Negligence
• Locomotive Inspection Act Claims
• FELA vs. Workers' Comp Explained
• FELA Damages Explained

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.