Cocounseling on FELA Railroad cases with Poolson Oden is about building a trial team that is stronger, sharper, and more effective than any one lawyer or firm working alone.
Two is better than one, and three is better than two—especially in a world as technical, trapfilled, and highstakes as the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), The Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA), Safety Appliance Act (SAA), and Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA).
Our Core Philosophy: Two Is Better Than One
We do not see cocounsel as competition; we see it as an advantage. Different minds, different life stories, and different advocacy styles create a richer, more resilient case for the client.
When we say “two is better than one, and three is better than two,” we mean:
- More angles on liability, causation, and damages.
- More bandwidth to dig into documents, experts, medicine, and railroad practices.
- More perspectives to anticipate defenses, jury reactions, and judgespecific issues.
In serious FELA cases—acute catastrophic injuries, explosions, burns, wrongful death, toxic exposures, crossings, derailments, and cumulative trauma—the railroad is never sending just one person. They bring a team of attorneys along with inhouse counsel and handpicked experts. If they get a team, your client deserves one too.
A Deliberately Diverse Trial Team
Our firm is built on the idea that different experiences make cases stronger. We are not a monolith. We come at the work from different directions, and that is exactly why cocounseling fits us so well.
Put simply: we see issues through different lenses—gender, politics, parenting, family roles—and we use that to speak to different parts of a jury and different decisionmakers. When we join forces with you, we are not just “adding lawyers”; we are adding vantage points.
You bring your story and your relationship with the client. We bring ours. Together, we build a narrative that reaches more jurors, more adjusters, and more mediators than any single voice can.
I’ve worked with Danny and Carisa on several cases over the past few years. If you ever find yourself in the trenches of a legal battle, Danny and Carisa are the lawyers you want by your side. They will fight tirelessly to make sure your voice is heard and you receive the full measure of justice you deserve. If you need an injury lawyer, look no further than Danny Poolson and Carisa Oden— excellent lawyers who listen and genuinely care about their clients!
- Allen Ritchie
Why We Enjoy Collaboration
If you are looking for a firm that guards its files, hides its playbook, and treats cocounsel like a nuisance, you are looking in the wrong place. Collaboration is the part of the practice we enjoy the most.
We genuinely like:
- Sitting down with another lawyer and tearing apart the liability facts until the theory finally clicks.
- Debating the strengths and weaknesses of each expert, choosing the right mix, and thinking creatively about demonstratives.
- Working with your client and your client’s family as a unified front so they feel protected by a cohesive team, not shuffled between strangers.
We want you in the case. We want your instincts, your knowledge of your venue, your relationship with the client, and your trial ideas. Cocounseling with us is not “sending the file away”; it is building a combined trial unit that uses everyone’s strengths.
I am a local New Orleans attorney and have worked with many trial lawyers. Next time we need co–counsel, we want Poolson Oden on our team. – Casey Cowley
FullSpectrum FELA CoCounsel Opportunities
We are prepared to co-counsel with you on the full range of FELA claims, including:
- Acute traumatic injuries (crush injuries, amputations, orthopedic trauma, spinal injuries, head injuries).
- Explosions and fire cases.
- Burns (thermal, electrical, chemical) and inhalation injuries.
- Wrongful death arising from on the job incidents or railroad related catastrophes.
- Toxic exposures: asbestos, creosote, benzene, diesel exhaust, and other carcinogens or irritants.
- Crossing accidents, including complex comparative fault, sight line, and warning device issues.
- Derailments and masscasualty events.
- Cumulative trauma claims (back, knees, hips, carpal tunnel, repetitive trauma to joints and spine).
Each of these categories carries its own landmines: statute of limitations nuances, causation standards, medical proof issues, railroad “personal injury kit” traps, and overlapping federal statutes. The question is not whether you are smart enough to handle them—you are. The question is whether it makes sense to walk that minefield alone.
The Watermelon vs. Grape Reality
Let’s be blunt. You can keep 100% of a fee on a “grapesized” result, or you can share a fee on a “watermelonsized” outcome. Those are not the same thing.
Picture two paths:
- Path 1: You keep the case solo. You navigate the FELA and determine whether the LIA, SAA, and/or FRSA are indicated in your client’s case, as well as all the hidden traps yourself. You fight the railroad’s seasoned defense team, their experts, and their procedural tactics. You get a small or modest result because they exploit every gap in experience and every missed nuance. You keep the whole fee—but it is the size of a grape.
- Path 2: You co-counsel with a team that lives in this space. Together, you identify additional causes of action, leverage statutory violations, preserve and develop medical and economic proof, and push liability and damages as far as the law and facts allow. The case settles or tries for many multiples of “grape value.” You share the fee—but now you are carving up a watermelon.
Clients do not care how thin you slice your fee. They care about the size of their recovery, the protection of their family’s future, and how well they were represented.
Cocounseling is not about giving something up; it is about building something bigger—financially and substantively—for the client and, yes, for you.
Navigating the FELA, LIA, SAA, and FRSA: Tripwires Everywhere
The FELA work looks simple for about five minutes. Then the tripwires show up.
You know how quickly these issues can get out of hand:
- FELA’s causation standard and proof requirements.
- Layering in the Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA) and Safety Appliance Act (SAA), where applicable, for strictliability theories where appropriate.
- FRSA retaliation and interference claims when the railroad punishes workers for reporting injuries or safety concerns.
- Venue, choice of law, and jurisdictional questions that can help or harm the case before you ever pick a jury.
- Railroad “playbooks” for recorded statements, internal investigations, and medical control.
A missed statutory theory, a poorly framed causation opinion, an underdeveloped exposure timeline, or a weak explanation of cumulative trauma can easily shave six or seven figures off the case value. Cocounseling with a team that knows these statutes and patterns cold reduces that risk dramatically.
This is why we stress: collaborate with the right designated legal counsel team—one that regularly represents railroaders across the country, near and far, in big and small places, against the same carriers and claim departments you are facing.
Protecting Your Client And Your Relationship
We understand the fear: “If I bring in cocounsel, will I lose my client?” With us, the answer is no. Our model is to strengthen, not replace, your relationship.
When we cocounsel:
- You remain frontandcenter with your client.
- We make clear to the client that you are their lawyer, and we are joining forces with you and your team.
- We involve you in strategy sessions, major decisions, and case milestones to the level you prefer.
Your client should feel that their lawyer just brought in extra artillery for a difficult battle—not that they were quietly handed off. When the case ends, they walk away knowing you built a serious team for them. That deepens loyalty and trust.
How We Work With CoCounsel
Our cocounsel process is simple and transparent. We:
- Discuss the case early—liability, damages, venue, defenses, and realistic upside.
- Agree on a clear division of labor: who handles what, how communication flows, and how we present ourselves to the client and family.
- Put fee arrangements in writing, consistent with all applicable rules of professional conduct.
- Share our FELA, LIA, SAA, and FRSA resources—brief banks, expert relationships, railroad document knowledge—and integrate your strengths and local insight.
You will never be left guessing what is happening on “your” case. You will know the plan and you will see the work.
An Invitation To Build Bigger Cases Together
If you have a FELA case—whether it is a catastrophic acute injury, a complex exposure case, a suspicious crossing “accident,” a derailment, or a cumulative trauma claim that the railroad is dismissing as “normal wear and tear”—you do not have to choose between control and collaboration.
You can keep your relationship, your voice, and your place in the case, while adding a team that lives in this area of the law every day.
Two is better than one. Three is better than two. A shared fee on a watermelonsized recovery beats a solo fee on a grapesized result every single time, for both you and your client.
If you want to talk through a potential cocounsel opportunity—confidentially, without obligation—reach out. Tell us about your client, your concerns, your venue, and your goals. We will tell you honestly where we think we can add value, and if we cannot, we will tell you that, too.
Our goal is straightforward: combine your strengths with ours to protect your client and their family, navigate the tripwires of the FELA and related statutes, and build the biggest, strongest case the facts, law, and medicine will allow.