Major Claims Investigation and Response

RCSI's toll-free number ((800) 786-5204) is answered around the clock, seven days a week. There's always a railroad claims professional on call. When you have a major incident, RCSI will conduct the investigation or other claims-related activity requested.

Litigation Management

When there is an attorney lien or where there is litigation, RCSI will acknowledge the attorney lien and provide negotiations and recommendations without the necessary expense of the railroad retaining counsel. If there is litigation, RCSI will work with counsel to protect your interests at the hourly rate noted herein. RCSI's claim professionals provide a level of claims management that will greatly contribute to the overall litigation defense process.

Following are areas where RCSI can assist with represented or litigated claims with demonstrated effective results:

Release Preparation
RCSI's standardized form releases and RCSI's computer-generated releases were prepared by experienced railroad attorneys, and have been reviewed and approved by counsel throughout the United States and Canada.

Attorney Lien Acknowledgment

Negotiations

Case Review and Supervision of Files

Litigation Management
There is an effective sequence of litigation handling that should be undertaken by attorneys handling railroad litigation. Attorneys often do not follow this sequence of events, which may not be in the best interests of the railroad. RCSI's involvement assures that litigated files are defended with the railroad's interest in mind. RCSI will be able to save you more money in this one area than the total costs of the general services proposed herein.

Releases

RCSI will provide standard employee releases and third-party releases on a when-needed, as-needed basis.

RCSI provides word processor-generated releases, each with special wording, to cover serious injuries and unusual circumstances. These releases were prepared by a major railroad defense law firm to protect the interests of RCSI's railroad clients when a settlement is made. Where appropriate, RCSI will have counsel review the release(s).

Costs for the preparation of releases are based on the time necessary for preparation and/or associated research.

Referral Resource

RCSI provides specialty claims/litigation management referrals in accordance with your needs and requests.

  • doctors
  • attorneys
  • medical management
  • rehabilitation services
  • surveillance specialist
  • structured settlement companies
  • other professionals as necessary

RCSI will review and approve all medical bills and secure appropriate medical reports in the course of the overall claims management of files assigned to RCSI for investigation and claims management. RCSI can make all payments for and on behalf of your insured railroad, with billing back to the railroad for these charges.

Using specialized training in loss prevention, accident/injury investigation, and claims management, Risk Mitigation, RCSI can provide training in a format specific to the needs of your railroad. RCSI training programs include emphasis on FELA, crossing accidents, trespasser, and other third-party claims.

As a part of the general agreement, RCSI provides RCSI's copyrighted Claims Manual and additional copyrighted claims management and investigation documents to supplement this manual.

RCSI will secure, review, and process medical invoices on files assigned to RCSI for investigation and management.

RCSI will secure, review, and process third-party reports (i.e., medical management, surveillance, expert witnesses, etc.) and invoices on files assigned to RCSI for investigation and management.

As a part of the general agreement, RCSI provides customized forms for proper documentation and tracking of incidents/claims.

By definition, RCSI considers a disaster as a derailment with evacuation, generally where a HAZMAT team would be called to action. RCSI's "Disaster Claims Management" program serves as an instructional guide for Class I, Regional, Short Line, and Switching Railroads. RCSI's program is drawn from the collective experiences of the railroad industry, and is a foundation for defining a program that will protect your insured's interest in the event of a derailment with evacuation.

RCSI is the designated Third-Party Claims Administrator for many of the Class I railroads in the United States for disaster claims handling.

RCSI has developed a comprehensive hearing loss and claims management program for all railroads, large or small. RCSI can make these services available to your railroad.

RCSI has developed a comprehensive hearing loss and claims management program for all railroads, large or small. RCSI can make these services available to your railroad.

RCSI provides the most effective negotiations available at any price. I have also conducted training classes and seminars on negotiations nationally for attorneys and railroad claims people. I have concluded negotiations seminars for attorneys and claims managers nationwide.

In successful negotiations, RCSI anticipates between four and five hours for review and research time on each negotiated claim. In addition, other time and expenses associated with the negotiation process are billed at a competitive rate.

If your railroad elects to have RCSI handle third-party collections, RCSI will do so for a percentage of the amount recovered. If RCSI fails to recover anything, there is no charge. An example of this would be collections for damages incurred in a crossing accident.

RCSI offers training seminars for clients to increase their knowledge of railroad accident/injury investigation, claims management, and risk management methodology. These classes are specifically adapted to the individual rail properties but follow the general guidelines as posted on this site. Although Railway Claim Services, Inc. provides training in the broad railroad claims management activities, we also provide shorter topic-specific training upon request. If you are interested in scheduling a training session for your railroad management personnel, please CONTACT US to discuss a cost-effective training program that will benefit your rail operation.

During the course of the seminar, a number of handouts are provided to assist attendees in dealing with claims situations when they return home. One such situation is the highway grade crossing accident. RCSI recommends that unless you have a full-time claims department, you CONTACT US immediately in the event of a serious grade crossing accident. If the accident is minor in terms of injuries and/or property damage, it is still imperative that certain tasks be performed in order to control the liability exposure should a claim be presented. RCSI has developed a checklist of the tasks to be performed in connection with "minor" grade crossing accidents.

In addition to the annual seminars, RCSI is available to conduct special one-day seminars at our clients' request. These can be done at your location. Please CONTACT US for details.