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.
Whitehouse is a village in Readington Township, New Jersey along the Jersey Turnpike, just west of Mechanicsville. In 1722, Abraham Van Horn purchased 490 acres in Readington along the Rockaway Creek. He built a grist mill and saw mill here. Around 1750, he built a white plastered wall tavern on the creek where the Jersey Turnpike crossed (this is now the corner of Washington Street and US 22). The tavern began to be referred to as the "White House" by travellers. The village, which sprang up to the east of the tavern also carried this name. Stones from the original tavern can be seen along the retaining wall of the DAR cemetery, where the tavern once stood. The village of White House stretched along the Jersey Turnpike (now Route 22 and Old Route 28), which was the main street. The village included taverns, stores, grist mills, an academy, a Dutch Reformed Church and numerous houses. The nearby Whitehouse Station, which also indirectly took the name from the tavern, was not built up until 1848 when an extension of the Somerville and Easton Railroad was built.