Can I Sue for a Railroad Crossing Accident?

LAW BLOG  •

January 9, 2018

Our cities and towns are filled with railroad crossings, as trains deliver goods and people all over the country. We give these railroads little thought, and we might not even think of them as dangerous. Unfortunately, people sustain injuries and die at railroad crossings each year. While you might assume that the driver is at fault for an accident at a railroad crossing, this isn’t always the case. In fact, in many instances, the action or inaction of another party contributed to an accident. Learn about your legal options if you or a loved one was involved in an accident at a railroad crossing.

Determining the Four Elements

Railroad crossing accidents can be complex, because there may be several different parties involved. Like the majority of personal injury cases, however, successfully gaining compensation for your injuries requires proving four essential elements:

  • Someone owed you a duty of care. Railroad operators have a responsibility to maintain the tracks and warning signs, for example. They’re also required to provide adequate time for motorists to clear a track or stop when a train is coming.
  • That entity breached its duty of care. In the previous example, the railroad operator may fail to test or maintain the warning signs at a crossing or fail to provide adequate notice of an approaching train, breaching its duty of care. This is referred to as negligence.
  • Its negligence led to your injuries – in other words, the entity’s breach of care directly caused your accident.
  • You incurred damages as a result. Accidents at railroad crossings often lead to catastrophic damages, from extensive medical bills, even funeral and burial expenses in the case of wrongful death. You may also incur damages arising from loss in life quality, physical pain, suffering, or the mental anguish of losing a loved one.

Possible Liable Parties in a Train Accident

Accidents at a railroad crossing may involve one or several liable parties. Some of them include:

  • The owner of the train and tracks. These are the parties responsible for testing and checking equipment that may be defective.
  • The manufacturer of the train and tracks, if these elements were defective.
  • The owner or manufacturer of the warning light. In some instances, a warning light may fail, and these errors can lead to devastating consequences. If the manufacturer or maintainer of the traffic light contributed to a defect or failure, they may be liable for any damages that result.

There are several elements that may come into play during a train wreck – for example, perhaps the conductors were poorly trained or vetted, or maybe the equipment fell below standards for quality. A personal injury attorney can help you by conducting a thorough investigation into the case, determining the parties responsible, and holding them accountable for their negligence.

These cases tend to be complex and can involve several private and municipal parties. If you or a loved one sustained an injury or worse at a railroad crossing, you may be entitled to compensation under civil law. Your best course of action is to contact a Houston personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

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