Colin X. Fitzgerald

Colin X. Fitzgerald represents injured railroad workers nationwide as an attorney at Doran & Murphy, PLLC, a firm dedicated almost exclusively to Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) litigation. He brings a trial lawyer’s background to railroad injury cases, having built his courtroom experience first as a prosecutor and then as a commercial litigator before turning his focus to representing injured workers.

Colin began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney for Erie County, where he prosecuted felony crimes and gained extensive first-chair trial experience. He then practiced as a commercial litigator at one of the region’s most prominent law firms before joining Doran & Murphy. His background includes toxic tort litigation, experience that directly informs his representation of railroad workers with occupational exposure claims. Across his career, he has argued and won appeals before New York State’s Appellate Division (see, e.g., People v. Cormack, 170 AD3d 1628 [4th Dept. 2019]), and he applies that same rigor and trial-readiness to the railroad injury cases he handles today.

Colin is known for connecting with clients on a personal level — a quality that, combined with his trial background, makes him a steady advocate for injured railroad workers navigating a difficult and often adversarial claims process.

Colin handles traumatic injury claims on behalf of railroad workers across every craft, including conductors, engineers, carmen, electricians, machinists, trackmen and maintenance-of-way workers, signal maintainers, bridge and building workers, yardmasters, pipefitters, sheet metal workers, welders, carpenters, and laborers. He has represented injured workers in claims against all of the major Class I freight railroads, including Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and Amtrak, as well as regional carriers and commuter rail systems across the country. He has litigated FELA matters in state and federal courts across New York, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Arkansas, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

He has recovered millions of dollars for injured railroad workers.

Bar Admissions

• New York State (admitted 2014)
• United States District Court for the Western District of New York
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Texas
• Ohio

Education

• J.D., University at Buffalo School of Law
• B.A., St. Bonaventure University

Professional Affiliations

• New York State Bar Association
• Erie County Bar Association
• New York Trial Lawyers Association (has provided continuing legal education to fellow attorneys)
• Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys (ARLA)

Recognition

Colin was honored by the United States District Court for the Western District of New York for his pro bono representation of indigent litigants, reflecting his ongoing commitment to ensuring equal access to justice in his community.

Speaking Engagements

While in private commercial litigation practice, Colin was selected to participate as a panelist in a four-part continuing legal education series, “Litigating Police & Prison Abuse Cases,” presented in partnership with the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, addressing best practices and common issues in cases involving Fourth and Eighth Amendment violations.