Railroad worker injuries are covered under the Federal Employees Liability Act which requires that a railroad maintains their fleet, ensuring that their trains are in good working order and free of defects. If a railroad does not comply with these standards, they may be liable for injuries to their workers. Damages railroad workers may receive include medical treatments, present and future lost wages and mental trauma. An injury on the railway can range from a minor sprain to a spinal injury so severe that it leads to death. Some of the most common injuries that affect railway workers are head trauma, knee injuries, back injuries, neck injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, brain trauma or spinal cord injuries. The Federal Employees Liability Act protects railroad workers and others as diverse as clerical employees whose day-to-day functions do not directly involve trains or outdoor activity.
Bonfield is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. Bonfield's population was 364 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Kankakee-Bradley, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Although founded by quarryman Thomas Verkler, the village was named after Thomas Bonfield, an attorney for the Kankakee & Seneca Railroad Company, which established a depot in the village. A name was needed for this depot, someone suggested "Bonfield", and that's what stuck. The railroad has long since disappeared into history but it had been on Johnson Street. Old railroad spikes and ties might still be found around the limestone quarry. The depot was moved about a mile and a half south of the village and converted to a barn, which remains today (12/31/2007). The town originally had a high school, but it burned down in the early 1930s. Students then went to Herscher High School in Herscher, Illinois.