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A railroad accident can pose a significant threat to people, particularly in more populated areas where railroad tracks cross major vehicle roads. A railroad accident can be a very violent event that can result in serious injury to train operators and passengers, automobile drivers and passengers, school buses and children, and pedestrians. Approximately three thousand railroad accidents occur in the United States every year. Railroad accidents claim the lives of one thousand people every year.
A railroad accident can involve a number of different scenarios. Trains can collide with cars, school buses, or motorcycles. A railroad accident can also be the result of two trains crashing into one another. A railroad accident can also be the result of mechanical failure of the train itself or of the railroad crossing warning system. A railroad accident can also be the result of human error, whether a railroad employee or not.
A railroad accident can be the result of railroad company or employee negligence. Defective railroad tracks, poor maintenance of a train, track, or any other related train equipment, increased train traffic, and excessive cargo loads are all railroad liabilities that can cause a railroad accident. In a railroad accident that occurs at a crossing, railroad negligence may be responsible.
In railroad crossing accidents railroad companies can be liable for accidents where a crossing was obstructed or improperly maintained. Railroad negligence may also be responsible when the train’s operator or any other person has limited view of a crossing or an approaching train respectively. Faulty, inadequate, or otherwise deficient crossing gates, insufficient or ineffective warning systems, and whistles can also contribute to or cause a railroad accident.
There are 223,000 railroad crossings throughout the United States. Approximately 82,000, or thirty seven percent, are not gated or otherwise lack sufficient protection and possible prevention of a railroad accident. Railroad accident statistics reveal that railroad accidents are seven times more likely to occur at crossings that do not have a gate. Gated railroad crossings are those that have an automated arm that lowers in order to notify and prevent people from crossing train tracks when a train is nearby.
Injuries from a railroad accident may be the result of unsafe locomotive parts internal or external to a train. These may also be the result of railroad company negligence. When a person is injured or killed in a railroad accident, the victim and/or their loved ones have the legal right to seek compensation from the railroad company when their actions or negligence contributed to the damages in a railroad accident. Employees who have been injured or killed in a railroad accident are able to seek reparation of their damages under FELA, or the Federal Employers Liability Act. Non-employees also have the legal right to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim against a negligent railroad company in the event of a railroad accident. If you have questions about railroad accident cases, a railroad accident attorney can advise you of your rights and options in a lawsuit to recover losses such as medical costs, loss of income, and psychological suffering.
After a New York Times article published in July 2004 said Union Pacific fails to properly report fatal accidents along its tracks, the railroad company said it would develop a camera system. The digital cameras and microphones attached to its locomoti...
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A nine-car Amtrak train derailed the night of April 6, 2004, traveling from New Orleans to Chicago. About 25 miles north of Jackson, the train derailment believed to be an accident was declared a state of emergency. Of the 68 passengers and 12 crew mem...
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