Train Accidents Lawyers
Train accidents are frequently the result of corporate negligence, such as deteriorating track conditions that go unaddressed, equipment left on the tracks, hazardous speeding through sharp curves, or engineers who are distracted or fatigued while operating the train.
When a train goes off the tracks, passengers and crew may suffer devastating injuries in the form of fractures and breaks, back and neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, burns, and other life-threatening ailments. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, over 1000 individuals are killed every year in railway accidents, and thousands of passengers suffer significant injuries each year.
If you or someone you know has been hurt or killed in a train accident, our lawyers may be able to assist you in obtaining compensation for your injuries, pain, suffering, and other losses as a result of a collision or derailment. To learn more now, call us for a free, no-risk case evaluation form.
How Can A Train Accident Lawyer Assist Me?
Train accidents often result in painful, life-altering injuries that necessitate lengthy medical care and treatment as well as time away from work for recovery. A train accident lawyer may assist you in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, missed income, and other losses by establishing liability after the event.
Many train accidents are caused by the negligence of a railway company, but proving culpability after an accident is considerably more difficult than it appears. Railroad safety is a highly regulated field, and the rules are strict. There are several federal agencies that oversee rail safety and investigate railway accidents, including the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and others.
An experienced attorney understands the ins and outs of these rules, as well as how to conduct an inquiry on your behalf to see whether a railroad company and its employees violated any laws or operated its trains in a negligent manner that resulted in the train accident or derailment.
Types Of Train Accident Cases
- Derailments
- Excessive speeding
- Failure to maintain or repair tracks
- Train operator error or fatigue
- Faulty signaling equipment
- Mechanical failure
- Failure to break
- Debris or equipment left in tracks
In some circumstances, a business may be held accountable for a train accident caused by a manufacturing flaw with the train or rails rather than the company that owns the trains or railways’ negligence. An accident lawyer can help with the inquiry into the cause of the accident or derailment, as well as who is to blame.
Verdicts And Settlements In Major Train Accidents
There have been a number of victories for train accident victims and their families seeking accountability and compensation for these avoidable collisions and derailments.
- On October 27, 2016, Amtrak reached a $265 million settlement after its May 2015 train derailment in Philadelphia injured nearly 200 people. On February 6th, a Philadelphia judge ruled that the Amtrak engineer must be charged with criminal offenses including involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
- After the deadly 2013 crash in the Bronx, when a Metro-North train derailed on a curve near Spuyten-Duyvil, the families of passengers injured and killed in the fatal accident were awarded at least $32 million in settlements and legal costs. The total amount paid out as settlements may rise and has yet to be determined.
- On May 9, 2017, a Transportation Security Administration employee at O’Hare International Airport was given $6.65 million after she was severely hurt by a CTA Blue Line train derailment. Due to the injuries she sustained in the train accident, the employee can no longer do her former job as a TSA officer.
What Is The Cause of These Frequent Train Accidents?
There are a variety of reasons behind the most recent train disasters and derailments we’ve seen on television, although many of them have similar examples of wrong train handling, train operator negligence, and bad track maintenance.
In many of the recent deadly train accidents, the trains were going at such high speeds that they approached hazardous curves and needed train engineers to reduce speed to safely negotiate them, even when approaching dangerous curves.
The train involved in the 2017 Amtrak derailment in Washington state was traveling 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to authorities. The train that caused the fatal 2013 Metro-North accident in the Bronx was clocked at 82 mph as it approached a sharp bend in the railway system.
In the 2018 South Carolina Amtrak accident that killed two people, a track switch was reported to have been placed in the incorrect position, directing the train onto another track where a stationary freight train was parked.
Recent train derailments, including the 2016 NJ Transit disaster in Hoboken and the 2017 Long Island Rail Road accident in Brooklyn, have been linked to the train’s operator or engineer suffering from sleep apnea — a sleep condition also linked to tiredness-related deadly trucking accidents.
Accidents have prompted train safety advocates and lawmakers to call for enhanced infrastructure upkeep, as well as the need for railway engineers to undergo mandatory sleep apnea testing and the introduction of sophisticated rail safety technology like Positive Train Control, which can automatically stop a train before accidents occur.
The Process At Texas Personal Injury Lawyers In A train Accident case
- Documentation
- The first stage is for your assigned legal team to gather records regarding your claim, including medical reports, medical expenses, and insurance policy information.
- These papers will assist your legal representative in determining the breadth of your harm and constructing a compensation claim.
- Investigation
- Your legal team will conduct a thorough investigation of your accident in order to gather the essential evidence.
- To assist build your case, they may examine dashcam video, security camera video, police records, and other evidence.
- Negotiation
- Your lawyer will negotiate with the defense outside of court to ensure that you get the compensation you are due.
- Your attorney will work tirelessly to resolve your case. If these efforts fail, your lawyer will be ready to go to trial and present your position in the best light possible.
What Is the Maximum Amount I Can Recover In A Train Accident Case?
Train accident victims who participate in a lawsuit may seek monetary compensation for their injuries in the form of economic, non-economic, and sometimes punitive damages.
Economic damages in a personal injury case are measured in terms of money. They can include:
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Current Medical Expenses
After a train accident, you might be required to pay for medical expenses such as emergency department visits, hospital treatment, surgery, assistive devices, and appointments with authorized medical practitioners.
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Future Medical Expenses
The injuries sustained in a train accident or derailment might be severe enough to necessitate lengthy medical treatment and care in some circumstances.
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Lost Wages
Train accidents might result in catastrophic injuries that prevent a victim from returning to work temporarily or permanently. Between the time of injury and the conclusion of litigation, workers’ compensation gives recovery for lost earnings.
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Loss of earning capacity
If the victim’s employment is negatively affected by the train accident, compensation may be due. Past salaries are taken into account when calculating this award; as well as how much money the victim could have made if the train accident hadn’t occurred.
Non-economic damages compensate the victim and their family for non-financial, intangible losses such as suffering, pain, and loss of life.
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Pain and Suffering
The compensation for the physical suffering endured as a result of the train accident may include money. The type of injury, how serious it is, and how long the victim is expected to endure are all factored into the calculation of the award.
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Mental Anguish
Victims of train accidents can also be compensated for the emotional trauma they experienced as a result of the accident or derailment. Mental anguish damages compensate the victim for anxiety, worry, sadness, and other types of emotional suffering brought on by the train accident.
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Loss of Consortium
In the case of a rail accident that results in a wrongful death, a surviving spouse may be compensated for the loss of his or her loved one’s services, assistance, aid, and company. Surviving parents may seek compensation for the loss of love, care, and companionship caused by their minor children’s wrongful death. Minor children may be compensated for the loss of assistance, aid, and company provided by their parents as a result of their wrongful death.
Punitive damages, on the other hand, might be awarded if the defendant’s actions that caused the accident were intentional, malicious, or wanton in order to punish and deter future misconduct.
Injured In A Train Accident Or Derailment?
You shouldn’t have to deal with the consequences if you were hurt in a train accident that was caused by another person’s or firm’s negligence. A train accident lawyer can assist you in obtaining compensation for your injuries, suffering, and other losses.
Because you only have a short amount of time to file a train accident claim, it’s critical that you act quickly. Call us immediately for a free, no-risk case evaluation to learn how our Texas Personal Injury Lawyers may assist you.
Call us at (888) 997-2148 now for you free consultation.
We take cases on a contingency fee basis and there are no costs unless we win, and the consultation is completely FREE. Contact us to learn what Texas Personal Injury Lawyers can accomplish for you.