Federal Rail Safety Act subsection (c)(1) prohibits railroads from denying, delaying, or interfering with the medical treatment of employees “injured during the course of employment.” In a fact driven decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals sidesteps deciding the temporal scope of that protection (just first aid or entire course of treatment?) and its interpretative standard (can a railroad’s denial of a medical claim payment constitute interference?). Instead, the Court merely commented: “We suggest that the Administrative Review Board might reexamine and further explicate its reasoning regarding Section 20109(c)’s interpretation in the future.” Metro North Commuter Railroad Company v. United States Department of Labor (previously captioned as Anthony Santiago v. Metro North Railroad).
In the Metro North case, the Railroad’s Medical Department contractor refused to approve payment for a treatment procedure based on its view that Santiago’s occupational injury had resolved. Given a lack of evidence showing the Railroad’s direct involvement in that determination, the Circuit Court found there was not enough proof the Railroad improperly influenced the contractor’s action. So the Circuit’s decision is limited to that narrow set of facts, and obviously does not apply to actions taken directly by a railroad’s own supervisors or by its own medical department.
The take away? The resolution of subsection (c)(1)’s scope and standard must wait another day. For more on the whistleblower rights of rail workers, go to the free Rail Whistleblower Library.