Metrolink commuter train 111 was making its regular run between downtown Los Angeles to Ventura County, California when it ran a flashing red signal and slammed into an oncoming freight train. The death toll is currently 26, with well over 100 people injured. The local community is in shock and searching for answers. Why did the commuter train run through the flashing red signal? How could this disaster have been prevented?
It is being reported that a dispatcher may have tried to warn the engineerthat he was about to collide with a freight train but the call came too late. It is also being reported that two boys, who had befriended the train operator, may have traded test messages with operator just prior to the crash. Metrolink has a policy against use of cell phones by commuter train operators. A Metrolink initially took responsibility for the crash admitting to ‘human error.’ At the request of the Metrolink board, that spokesperson resigned. Metrolink representatives now deny responsibility pending the outcome of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. At this early juncture, there are many more questions than answers.
One part of this story which has struck me thus far is the suggestion of cell phone use. At this point, we don’t know if this allegation is true or not. As an attorney who handles mass tort and injury cases, I can tell you this. Cell phones are the cause of too many accidents, many of which occur when the driver of a car is distracted by their phone while driving. While some states and cities have outlawed the use of cell phones while driving, too many states still turn a blind eye to the dangers of cell phone use while driving. No victim of a terrible accident, or their family member, would ever trade money for their life or limb. Settlements end litigation, but they do not put people or families back together again. As a society, we need to decide to prioritize safety so that accidents and crashes such as the one in California last week do not occur in the first place. Unnecessary injuries cause unnecessary hardship. With health-care costs continuing to escalate, injury prevention benefits society as well as individuals.
It will take months to sort out what happened to Metrolink Commuter Train 111. But we are already reminded that tragedies such as this are best prevented and that Government shares a responsibility to regulate safety, especially when it comes to public transportation. In the meantime, we should all remember that while technology allows us to be ‘connected’ from anywhere, there are many places where the distraction of technology puts us, and those around us, at risk. For more articles like this, bookmark www.trainaccidentlawyers.info
Author: Enrico Schaefer
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Train accident lawyers contend with a variety of train accident victims, from auto vs. train accidents, to accidents due to conductor error, even to accidents due to conditions on trains or in train stations. If you, or a loved one, has been injured in a train accident, contact train accident attorneys for legal counsel and potential legal representation. Your consultation may be free, and may help to change your life to ensure that damages, medical bills and more are handled promptly and with your legal rights maintained. Ask A Lawyer Online Now. Get an Answer ASAP. 12 Lawyers Are Online! Law.JustAnswer.com
Train accidents are not something you hear about the in the news very often. In fact, trains are not even something that most people see or even think about regularly. Interactions between trains and other vehicles are extremely limited and are restricted to only a few locations in any given city. However, even with limited interaction, a surprising number of accidents occur annually between trains and other vehicles, resulting in significant damage to personal property and severe injuries. Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?
A study done on train accidents yielded very surprising results. Although train accidents are rarely talked about, this study found that in a recent year alone there were 1,000 fatalities due to train accidents. In fact, studies show that there are approximately 3,000 train accidents annually in the United States and 1,500 reported injuries resulting from these accidents.
Causes of Train Accidents
Trains are extremely complicated machines that must be operated by a qualified and trained professional to ensure the safety of everyone on or near the train. However, there are a number of things that can go wrong in the operation of a train that can result in serious and deadly accidents. Some of the most frequent causes of train accidents include
Conductor error
Improper railroad track maintenance / construction
Mechanical defect / malfunction
Any one of the above listed scenarios has the potential to cause extremely damaging accidents resulting in significant damage and injuries.
Train Safety
In order to prevent dangerous collisions between cars and trains, a number of important safety features have been put in place at railroad crossings. Two of the most important are safety signs and safety gates.
Safety signs alert cars to a railroad crossing ahead so that drivers can be prepared for a possible train approaching. These signs are of the utmost important as they signal to drivers that they need to pay attention and make themselves aware of their surroundings.
Additionally, the implementation of safety gates has been a significant addition to railroad crossing safety. These gates are alerted to a train’s approach and lower horizontally across the road to prevent drivers from crossing the tracks when a train is near.
The use of both of these safety features has been important in reducing the frequency of dangerous collisions between trains and other automobiles.
Author: Joseph Devine
Joseph Devine
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Devine
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Train accident lawyers work with an array of clients who have been in train accidents or even injured in trains or train stations due to other incidents. If you, or a loved one, has been involved in an accident on a train, or a train station, or with connection to a train or train tracks, contact a train accident attorney in your area for legal counsel and legal representation.
Each day thousands of people ride the train to work and for various reasons from the ease of transportation without dealing with city traffic, the savings of having one car that needs upkeep, insurance and gasoline in today’s high fuel market at the gas pumps. There is also connivance of not having to look for or pay for parking, so it is connivance along with saving money that have many people on the train five or six days a week. But the unseen dangers of riding the train are real and present at all times.
While driving a vehicle in the city can be dangerous and accidents occur several times a day on the streets, freeways and highways of any city in the United States. These same people do not realize the dangers that can be waiting for them any day of the week on the train.
Dangers can lurk anywhere from the train station to the train itself, when walking in the train station there are often wet floors that have recently been mopped that can be a hazard where a slip and fall injury can occur. There is the fact that once on the train the rider has no protection such as seatbelts in case the train comes to a halt quickly or if there is an accident of any type. The train is often crowded and this means that there are more possibilities of injury due to standing on the train, more people crowded while waiting for the train to board it leaves the possibility of being push, shoved and otherwise maneuvered where injuries are possible.
The unseen dangers of riding the trains are all around, and with each ride it could end in severe injuries and when it does there will be medical bills, lost time from work and the passenger train rider and victim hit by the train needs to be compensated. This is why there are train accident attorneys that specialize in train accidents and know how to prepare a case that will bring the settlement the train injury victim deserves.
The types of injuries that can occur during an accident on a train are lacerations, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, back injuries, head injuries, spinal cord and brain injuries, and even worse at there are hundred of deaths associated with train accidents.
One problem with riding the train is that the train rider has no control and this means when an accident is going to occur there is no time to be prepared for the impact. Recent train accidents have had unfortunately high fatalities and seemingly senseless causes for the accidents to include one train conductor who was using his cellphone and possibly texting people at the time of the accident. Such an accident is so tragic, and you or a loved one who has been in such an accident need to have sound legal representation.
Author: Michael Ehline
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Ehline
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Train Accident Lawyers are here to assist you if you, or a loved one, has been injured in any kind of commuter train accident. Accidents can range from very minor, to accidents that cause fatalities. While commuter trains are overall statistically very safe, you need to be aware of the risks and that a train accident attorney can assist you with the legal system if you are in a train accident.
Trains, buses, and subways move millions of people through the country’s cities on a daily basis. These items are depended on for reliable, cheap transportation that will get a person to the office or school on time on a daily basis. Unfortunately, as vehicles, these items are also subject to crashes and other types of accidents that can leave their patients injured or disabled permanently.
One of the most recent examples of a public transportation accident took place in California when a train operator missed a signal because he was too busy texting. Because of the missed signal, the passenger train ended up colliding with a freight train. Lots of damage was done to both trains but, even worse, many people died.
While commuter trains have a history of accidents, they are not all that bad. Some very minor accidents can be the result of an accident. It is also possible to fall while the train brakes coming into a station if standing. When a person falls, enormous amounts of stress are put on a person’s joints and bones when he or she goes to break the fall. This can result in broken bones that require surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
Subways have some of the same problems as commuter trains. These vehicles are frequently packed, particularly during rush hour, and could never provide enough seats for the number of people that manage to squeeze in. Even so, it is still possible to fall when the subway brakes to pull into a station.
Subways are also subject to becoming disabled while they run their route. Whereas with a train, the passengers can just evacuate onto the side of the tracks, subway passengers do not have that option as they are in a tube underneath the ground. While not at all common, it is not ludicrous to think that a subway operator could miss a signal and end up rear-ending the disabled train.
Buses, like any other vehicle, can be involved in accidents with other cars. If a driver takes a corner too quickly, the bus can roll. This is not common, however, thanks to the amount of traffic typically present along bus lines. It is not uncommon though for a bus to be involved in an accident involving a cab or other vehicle that is running along the street.
Author: Joseph Devine
Joseph Devine
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Devine
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