Railroad accidents are relatively rare, but the damage a train could leave is far more severe than a car or bike accident. Injuries can occur outside or inside of the train. A train can travel as fast as 110 mph on the railroad tracks making it incredibly dangerous. A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania personal injury attorney will advocate for you and get you the compensation you deserve from being in a train accident.
Railroad conductors are liable for any parties injured on their watch and their premises. It is their responsibility to ensure passengers board safely. When they fail to do their job correctly, it is a personal injuries attorney’s job to help a victim who suffered due to negligent actions of a railroad conductor.
A victim was struck by a fast-moving Amtrak train in Pennsylvania while trespassing across the south tracks of Philadelphia. The Amtrak train was coming from Washington D.C. and on its way to Boston. Rail line officials estimated that the Amtrak train killed the unidentified person at 8:40 p.m. on a Monday. At the time of the investigation, the police had not notified the victim’s relatives yet.
The 55 passengers and train crew on the Amtrak train were fortunate enough not to sustain any injuries or damages at the time of the accident.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the latest reporting year shows that 2,985 railroad accidents occurred. In Pennsylvania, there were 121 victims injured as a result of a railroad accident and five deceased.
When a train accident does happen, it can be for many reasons consisting of:
A significant portion of railroad accidents is due to unprotected railroad crossings. Therefore, railroad crossings need to have the necessary safety precautions to warn people of a possible oncoming train. The railroad crossings should have all the light signals and gates working correctly. A conductor must also sound the alarm to notify others of their presence.
Some drivers may see the warnings that a train will be passing through soon and try to beat the train. Drivers who attempt to race the train fail to realize the critical condition they can put themselves in if they act recklessly. Railroad accidents tend to happen because many are unaware of how fast a train is running till it is too late.
Railroad accidents can be disastrous events that can completely change a victim’s life. Train accidents may appear as only something that may only happen in movies but unfortunately, these terrifying accidents do happen outside of movies. At Solomon, Sherman, and Gabay, our Philadelphia personal injury attorneys use an aggressive and skilled approach to get the victim the compensation needed. If you or someone you love has been injured in a train accident, please get in touch with us at 215-665-1100 or by clicking here.