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Millions upon millions of Americans use trains every day. Trains are used for many transportation purposes, including business and leisure activities.
In the United States, there are over 99,100 miles of Class 1 railroad tracks. And there are more than 250,000 railroad crossings in America.
Because trains have so much passenger traffic every year, there is a high potential for injury accidents.
Train accidents can injure both passengers inside the trains and people outside of the trains while they attempt to cross tracks on foot or in other vehicles.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, in the United States, a train accident occurs every two hours.
This means there are approximately 3,000 train crashes every year. In the year 2000, for example, there were 2,983 train accidents in the United States.
Those accidents resulted in ten fatalities. Train accidents are
often catastrophic and can cause more severe consequences than other kinds of traffic accidents. Children aged 16 and under account for approximately 35 percent of all railroad crossing accident injury victims.
Railroad accidents are often caused by:
Though these are the most common causes of train accidents, there are countless other possible causes. For instance, about 60 percent of all railroad crossing
deaths take place at unprotected crossings.
These crossings may be the responsibility of the train companies or the cities they are in, depending on state and federal laws.
Since there are so many factors that lead to train accidents, there are many people who may be held liable in the event a serious passenger injury or death occurs.
In many cases, a person injured in a railroad crossing accident may have a claim against the train company for failure to properly maintain the train tracks or the
train itself. In other cases, an injured party may have a claim against whoever is responsible for maintaining the crossing gates, bells and lights
if they fail to properly function.
These are just some of the potential ways an injured party may be able to recover damages for his or her injuries associated with a train accident.
If you have been injured in a train accident, the results may have been devastating or even life-changing. Since the potential liability in the accident
may be very difficult to decipher. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the case and ensure that your legal rights are protected.
San Diego personal injury lawyer Allan S. Field can help you understand the liability and potential for recovery in your case. Contact us
to represent you in your train accident case.