It was a peaceful morning for Jack. Birds were singing. The sun shining. He even had a skip in his step. The air was crisp and refreshing. Even Jack’s car seemed to revel in the day. The 30 minute drive to the train station felt like 5 minutes. What a wonderful way he thought to start the day.
Jack arrived at the station, parked his car and grabbed a coffee and the morning newspaper. A routine he’d done a hundred times. He knew all the staff by heart and they knew him by name. The conductors, the clerks and the security, they all had become his friends. Jack knew their stories and they knew his.
The train departs and for the next hour and 20 minutes on his travels Jack focuses on getting much needed work done on his laptop. He knows every stop based on the turns and whistles the train makes.
Unfortunately the peaceful morning wasn’t going to last.
Jack hears the tire screeches…and a few seconds later feels a jolt, then another. Then the train shudders and comes to a stop. He looks out the window. Scattered all about were the remnants of an automobile.
Jack springs into action, taking notes and assessing the damages. You see, Jack happens to be an investigator for the train service and sadly just witnessed an all too familiar site first hand. Failure to stop for a train.
But who’s fault was it really?
Sadly Jack discovered the answer when he disembarked from the train and it didn’t look promising to his employer. The crossing signals never turned on and the gates never came down warning pedestrians or motorized vehicles about the impending danger of the oncoming train.
Regardless of what Jack thought or knew about the incident, an investigation would still have to be conducted. The FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) would both be notified.
Friends, neighbors and relatives of the passengers involved in the wreck would most likely be looking for answers. Why did it happen? Questions would be raised as to the maintenance of the signals and gates. And what could have been done differently to prevent such a tragedy.
Railroad collisions aren’t always simple. In fact, most are never cut and dry scenarios, they are complex investigations that require technical and engineering expertise. Railroad accidents often involve serious injuries including paralysis, amputation, brain injury, spinal cord injury, and death.
Our legal team has access to a network of skilled experts who will help explain how and why an injury occurred so that we can work to obtain fair compensation for our clients. And yes, we do our own investigations and sometimes we even interview the investigators. We get to the truth.
Victims of train collisions are suffering, they have medical expenses, they’ve incurred property damage, lost wages, and the possibility of loss of earning capacity. When you need a law firm experienced in handling such cases call our offices today at (219) 736-9700. This is what we do!
If you were injured and need to file a claim for compensatory damages, fill out this contact form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
