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Train Accidents Attorney

TRAIN ACCIDENTS

Information provided by the Federal Railroad Administrationindicates that there was10,508 railroad accidents or incidents in 2017, in which 7,634 suffered a non-fatal injury. More than 820 people were killed in railroad accidents during the same time period. A “small” incident involving a train is a big deal because the average train made up of 90 to 120 cars and is up to 1 1/4 miles long, This means it can take a train more than a mile to stop once the engineer applies the emergency brake. Even a minor accident can be devastating, because the locomotive alone weighs between 270,000 lbs. and 435,000 lbs. The question you need to ask, to figure out who should be held responsible, is “could this have train accident been prevented?” The simple truth is that there is always a chance the company responsible for the train, the track owner, the vehicle operator or the train manufacturer could be held liable for your injuries.

VICTIMS OF TRAIN ACCIDENTS

There are train accident incidents in which just one person slips from a platform and is struck by a train, or one person is struck and killed at a crossing that does not have marking or lights.

Train accidents can also impact the entire community, such as when a there is a commuter train derailment. FRA statistics indicate that there is up to 30 derailment incidents per year, each of which can injure hundreds of passengers. An Amtrak passenger train just crashed into a stationary freight train in South Carolina, injuring 116 and killing two company employees.

A train accident can seemingly be the fault of a driver when a car is stuck on the tracks and subsequently struck by a train that does not have enough space and time to safely stop. However, the crew of the train must still make an effort to avoid crashing into a stalled vehicle. Following protocol does not mean that a crash can be avoided, but there is a higher likelihood the train company will be found not to be liable. This is not to say that a vehicle driver is always responsible when his or her car gets stuck on train tracks, because the crossing can be defective. Since the crossing belongs to the railroad, they will be liable for the accident and potential fatality.

Train accident victims:

  • Train passenger.
  • Platform bystanders or pedestrians.
  • Vehicle drivers.
  • Railroad employees.

Train accident types:

  • Train derailment.
  • Train collision with a vehicle.
  • Train collision with a moving train or a stationary train.
  • Train accident in which a pedestrian or bystander is injured.

It is important to remember that it is not necessary for a train to collide with another train, or derail due to a faulty mechanism, for a person to become seriously injured due to a train. All of this is what makes a lawsuit involving a train accident so complex, it is a matter that requires an experienced train accident attorney. The experienced attorneys of Action Legal Group have been handling train accident claims for years, and are prepared to leverage their knowledge to help families move forward after a devastating accident involving a train.

Romanucci & Blandin, LLC – 321 North Clark | Street Suite 900 | Chicago, Illinois 60654

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