Railroad Accident Lawyers

Railroad accidents occur with alarming frequency in the United States.  Many are not large accidents and involve no fatalities and therefore do not receive national coverage; however, sometimes railroad accidents do result in lost lives or even hazardous material spills.

Railroad Accidents

On March 20, 2008, two MBTA Green Line trains trains collided near the Boylston Street T station, in Boston.  As a result of the accident, nine injuries were reported  and passengers were taken to the hospital.  Two of those saying they were injured were train operators and one was a Green Line official who happened to be on one of the trains. The crash happened about 8 a.m. and MBTA officials said one trolley rear-ended another. One of the cars became derailed upon impact

On March 25, 2008, a “runaway freight car” rammed into an MBTA train injuring 150 passengers and crew members. An alert engineer halted the train before impact, preventing what could have been far more serious injuries, officials said. The crash occurred about a half mile north of the Canton Junction station.
"We knew we were coming into Canton Junction and suddenly the train stopped," said Tony Phillips, a 42-year-old passenger who works for a Boston advertising firm and lives in Stoughton. "All the sudden, there was a bang, a huge explosion. People were screaming 'Oh my God, what happened?'"Everyone on the train who was standing fell to the ground, Phillips said.  Dozens of emergency workers carried passengers and crewmembers away from the tracks on stretchers, rushing them to area hospitals. Nearby residents saw passengers walking through the adjacent woods with head injuries, some spouting blood, looking dazed. Although none of the injuries was life-threatening, the high volume of cuts, bruises, and neck and back injuries forced some of the hurt passengers to take a bus to the hospital when emergency workers from around the region ran out of ambulance space. "The lady in front of me was thrown forward pretty hard and she broke her nose and had a serious cut to her face," said Terrence Jackson, a 43-year-old passenger from Brockton. "Everybody did their part. I helped in the woman in front of me. The passengers that were less injured or weren't injured helped people that were hurt."

At approximately 1:37 a.m. on January 18, 2002, eastbound Canadian Pacific Railway freight train 292-16, traveling about 41 mph, derailed 31 of its 112 cars about 1/2 mile west of the city limits of Minot, North Dakota. Five tank cars carrying anhydrous ammonia, a liquefied compressed gas, catastrophically ruptured, and a vapor plume covered the derailment site and surrounding area. The conductor and engineer were taken to the hospital for observation after they complained of breathing difficulties. About 11,600 people occupied the area affected by the vapor plume. One resident was fatally injured, and 60 to 65 residents of the neighborhood nearest the derailment site were rescued. As a result of the accident, 11 people sustained serious injuries, and 322 people, including the 2 train crewmembers, sustained minor injuries. Damages exceeded $2 million, and more than $8 million has been spent for environmental remediation

On Tuesday, April 23, 2002, about 8:10 a.m. Pacific daylight time, eastbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway freight train PLACCLO3-22 collided head on with standing westbound Southern California Regional Rail Authority passenger train 809 on the No. 2 track at Control Point Atwood in Placentia, California. Emergency response agencies reported that 162 persons were transported to local hospitals. There were two fatalities. Damage was estimated at $4.6 million.

About 9:47 p.m. on March 15, 1999, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) train 59, with 207 passengers and 21 Amtrak or other railroad employees on board and operating on Illinois Central Railroad (IC) main line tracks, struck and destroyed the loaded trailer of a tractor-semi trailer combination that was traversing the McKnight Road grade crossing in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Both locomotives and 11 of the 14 cars in the Amtrak consist derailed. The derailed Amtrak cars struck 2 of 10 freight cars that were standing on an adjacent siding. The accident resulted in 11 deaths and 122 people being transported to local hospitals. Total Amtrak equipment damages were estimated at $14 million, and damages to track and associated structures were estimated to be about $295,000.

In the aftermath of a tragic railroad accident, hiring a personal injury lawyer may not be your top priority.  Your health and family’s well being should be your main concern; however, while the injured party is receiving initial medical treatment, chances are, the negligent parties have notified their lawyers or insurance company of the accident.

     Every insurance company has a team of adjusters, investigators and attorneys whose primary responsibility is to limit the liability of the insurance company and minimize the amount of money to be paid to injured parties. Often, victims are bombarded with paperwork and critical evidence is destroyed immediately following an accident.