45 U.S.C. § 54 — Assumption of risks of employment

This section limits a defense that railroads could otherwise use against injured workers. Normally, an employer might argue that a worker "assumed the risk" of a dangerous job and so can't recover damages. This section takes that defense away in two situations, for lawsuits against a common carrier under this chapter for an employee's injury or death. First, an employee is not treated as having assumed the risk if the injury or death happened, even partly, because of the negligence of any of the carrier's officers, agents, or employees. Second, an employee is not treated as having assumed the risk if the carrier's violation of a safety statute, a law enacted for employees' safety, contributed to the injury or death.