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.
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second most populous city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. The population was 225,581 at the 2000 census, however the 2008 estimate puts it at 251,624. Lincoln started out as the village of Lancaster, which was founded in 1856, and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859. The capital of Nebraska Territory had been Omaha since the creation of the territory in 1854; however, most of the territory's population lived south of the Platte River. After much of the territory south of the Platte considered annexation to Kansas, the legislature voted to move the capital south of the river and as far west as possible. The village of Lancaster was chosen, in part due to the salt flats and marshes. However, Omaha interests attempted to derail the move by having Lancaster renamed after the recently assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. At the time, many of the people south of the river had been sympathetic towards the Confederate cause and it was assumed that the legislature would not pass the measure if the future capital were named after Lincoln. The ploy did not work, as Lancaster was renamed Lincoln and became the state capital upon Nebraska's admission to the Union on March 1, 1867. The city was recently named one of the healthiest cities in the United States as of 2008.