We understand the hardship and loss that is suffered after a railroad or train accident involving serious injury or death. You may know about the train collision in Columbia, South Carolina on February 4, 2018 when a freight train and a passenger train collided, resulting in two deaths and more that 115 reported injuries. This collision between a Amtrak passenger train and a CSX freight train is still under investigation.
In the United States, each year approximately 3,000 train accidents result in about 1,000 deaths. Even a “minor” incident with a train can cause grave injuries or death due to the massive size and weight of the locomotives. Train accident lawsuits are complicated, often involving multiple responsible parties, and train accidents are subject to different laws, standards, and statutes of limitations than most personal injury cases. Train accidents can be caused by a number of factors including:
- Failure to Change Track Switch
- Improper Track Permission
- Derailments
- Train/train collisions
- Train/car collisions
- Railroad crossing accidents
- Railroad accidents
A train accident can affect just one person, such as when someone slips off a platform and is run over by a train, or they can affect an entire community, such as with a toxic chemical spill. When passenger trains derail, there are often hundreds of victims.
Types of Train Accidents
Derailments
Train derailments cause the most widespread damage. Derailments are almost always the result of failure to follow established safety standards but may also be caused by:
- Train operators and conductors failing to property communicate track locations
- Improper track permissions
- Faulty tracks
- Obstacles on the tracks
- Faulty equipment
- Too much cargo weight
Railroad crossing accidents
Railroad crossing accidents can involve cars or trucks being struck or pedestrians being run over. We have seen that common causes of railroad crossing accidents include:
- Defective signals or gates
- Trains that fail to sound their horns when approaching crossings
- Trains that fail to use their lights when approaching crossings
- Trains parked too close to a crossing
- Crossings obstructed by plants and other objects
- Objects protruding from the train
No collision
Train accidents do not always involve a collision or derailment. Pedestrians and bystanders can slip and fall under trains and be crushed. Additionally, employees that work on or around train tracks also find themselves with a heightened likelihood of injury or serious heart.
Talk to a Columbia South Carolina Train Accident Attorney Today
If you or a loved one has been injured or suffered death from a train or railroad accident, our compassionate lawyers at the Goings Law Firm, LLC can help. We know just how devastating the consequences of an injury or illness can be and, as such, do our best to fight for the just compensation victims deserve. Call us at (803) 350-9230 today to discuss your situation and learn more about how we might be able to fight for you.
