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.
Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,113 at the 2000 census, and estimated to have reached about 19,580 in 2007. The town is located in central Massachusetts, about a 40 minute drive, or about 40 miles (64 km), west of Boston, and about a 20 minutes' drive, or about 16.5 miles (26.6 km), northeast of Worcester. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a suburb of the neighboring Marlborough, Massachusetts, and was known as Feltonville. From around 1850 until the last shoe factory burned down in 1968, Hudson was known as a "shoe town. " At one point, the town had 17 shoe factories, many of them powered by the Assabet River, which runs through town. Because of the many factories in Hudson, immigrants were attracted to the town. Today, most people are of either Portuguese or Irish descent, with a smaller percentage of people being of French, Italian, English, or Scots-Irish descent. Hudson is served by the Hudson Public Schools district. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Hudson, please see the article Hudson (CDP), Massachusetts.