I'm Nick Thompson a partner at Casey Jones law we're a firm dedicated to representing Railroad employees. Part of representing railroad employees is not just helping them after the fact. It's also educating them on their rights. For that reason we're making a series of videos on the questions we're most often ask. We hope they help.

I've suffered an injury. Do I need to report it? This is a question railroaders frequently ask us, and the answer is simple. Yes, but let me explain.

Railroads have workplace rules that require that every injury be reported. And, at least in theory, there is good purpose for that rule. Namely, we want to give the railroads an opportunity to fix whatever injured you so it doesn't injure others. But there's also selfish reasons why you should report every injury. First, if the railroad discovers your injury some other way and you did not report it, they will fire you. I know this because I've worked with a number of employees who have been fired for exactly that reason. Second, the way your injury affects you on day one is not the same as it may affect you a week later, a month later, a year later. The last thing we want is you to suffer a debilitating injury that you didn't report because you only thought it was an ache or a pain.

Now that, of course, leads to this question. What constitutes an ache and pain that needn’t be reported versus an injury that must be reported? I wish I could give you a bright-line rule, but there isn't one. We advise, however, erring on the side of caution. Anything you think constitutes an injury, you should report.

Now you ask yourself what now? It's been a week, a month, a year since I was injured and I didn't report it. Should I report it now? Again, the answer is yes. But along with this, we'll give an asterisk. We invite you to call us. And that's because there are ways in which you can report your injury after the fact to limit the likelihood of the railroad taking issue with it. And we're happy to help you craft that. We are aware, of course, that retaliation in the railroad industry for reporting injuries is a very real thing, which each of you is concerned about. In fact, we've made an entire video dedicated just to that topic, explaining why railroads retaliate against employees who report injuries, but also how to protect yourself from that. Please follow this link to watch that video.