When we tell people we handle railway personal injury cases they give us a skeptical look. We can almost read it loud and clear. “Who gets injured in a train accident, unless they were doing something foolish?” More people than you think. While reckless drivers and pedestrians cause many train accidents, they don’t cause them all. We’ve handled cases where the railway at fault. Conductors are human, which means sometimes they fall asleep on the job, drink on the job, or just get distracted. Sometimes conductors get overconfident and speed just like motorists do. See also: How Personal Injury Trials Work in NYC. Then there’s the trains themselves. In some cases we’re talking about some pretty old pieces of equipment. The rail lines don’t always maintain their equipment as they should, with tragic results. Even when they do, things can go wrong. Malfunctioning switches can put trains on the wrong tracks, for example, causing trains to collide with each other. Or with structures along the railroad line. In fact, The New York Times recently reported that many of the buses and trains we use every day lack safety features that are standard in other parts of the world. These include seat belts, overhead baggage restraints, and improved windows. The same article notes that while trains suffer from few passenger fatalities, thousands of people have gotten injured riding Amtrak, L.I.R.R, and other commuter trains over the past two years. But say the railway isn’t at fault at all. What then? It’s important to realize motorists and reckless pedestrians aren’t the only people who get hurt in train accidents. A reckless motorist could cause harm to passengers and employees on board the train. All those people would then have personal injury claims against the negligent driver. See also: What are Punitive Damages in an NYC Personal Injury Case? Here are some examples:
- In 2017 a train came off the track at Atlantic Terminal Station and crashed into a small room at the end of the track, injuring 103 people.
- In 2018 an Amtrak train killed one and injured one when it collided with a dump truck.
- In February of this year 3 died when 2 L.I.R.R. trains crashed into a car. 7 more were injured on board the train.
Getting justice is hard if you try to go it alone. In train crashes, multiple responsible parties do their best to point the finger in every possible direction. Holding these people accountable requires thorough investigation and skill both inside and outside the courtroom. Insurance companies may offer you settlements, but unless you get lucky they are unlikely to meet your expenses. As with auto accidents, these can include lost wages, medical bills, pain, suffering, wrongful death, and more. See also: Is it Ethical to Pursue a Personal Injury Case? If you’ve been injured in a train accident, call David Leigh Law Today.
