§ 8.01-59.Assumption of risk; violation of safety appliance acts.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 6. Injuries to Railroad Employees · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-59 provides that a railroad employee’s knowledge of a defective or unsafe condition in the carrier’s machinery, ways, appliances, or structures does not by itself bar recovery, and bars any finding that the employee assumed the risk when the carrier’s violation of an employee-safety statute contributed to the injury or death.
Full Text of § 8.01-59
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In any action brought against any common carrier, under or by virtue of § 8.01-57, to recover damages for injuries to, or death of, any of its employees, the knowledge of any employee injured or killed of the defective or unsafe
character or condition of any machinery, ways, appliances, or structures of such carrier shall not of itself be a bar to recovery for an injury or death caused thereby, nor shall such employee be held to have assumed the risk of his employment in any case in which the violation by such common carrier of any statute enacted for the safety of employees contributed to the injury, or death of such employee.
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-59 limits the assumption-of-risk defense in railroad employee injury and death cases brought under § 8.01-57. An injured or killed employee’s mere knowledge of a defective or unsafe condition in the carrier’s machinery, ways, appliances, or structures is not, by itself, a bar to recovery — knowing about a hazard does not automatically defeat the claim.
The statute also removes the assumption-of-risk defense altogether in a specific circumstance: where the carrier’s violation of a statute enacted for employee safety contributed to the injury or death, the employee is not deemed to have assumed the risk of employment, regardless of what the employee knew about the condition that caused the harm.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a railroad employee knew about a dangerous condition, does that bar their injury claim?
Not by itself. Section 8.01-59 says an employee’s knowledge of a defective or unsafe condition in the carrier’s machinery, ways, appliances, or structures does not alone bar recovery for an injury or death caused by it.
Can a railroad argue the employee assumed the risk of a known hazard?
Sometimes, but not when the carrier’s own violation of an employee-safety statute contributed to the injury or death — in that situation, the statute bars any finding that the employee assumed the risk.
How does this section relate to § 8.01-58?
Section 8.01-58 addresses contributory negligence, reducing rather than barring damages for an employee’s own fault. This section addresses the separate assumption-of-risk defense, limiting when a carrier can raise it at all.
Does this protection apply to every kind of railroad hazard?
The statute covers defective or unsafe machinery, ways, appliances, or structures of the carrier — the categories of conditions an employee might have known about before being injured.
What triggers the complete bar on the assumption-of-risk defense?
A carrier’s violation of a statute enacted for the safety of employees, where that violation contributed to the employee’s injury or death.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-643; 1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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