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Train Accidents

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

When trains are not operated with absolute caution and care, accidents can occur.  Because of their incredibly massive size and weight, train accidents are potentially devastating events which can and do result in derailments and toxic spills.  The potential for damage in these events is enormous, and they may occur when railroad personnel fail to uphold safety to the fullest capacity.  When system safety is not implemented to its highest capacity, it is generally only a matter of time before a train derails.  With passenger trains, derailments are nothing short of terri

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Ungated crossing causes tragedy for 7-year-old

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

Two granddaughters in Terre Haute, IN lost their grandmother last Friday to a train accident at an ungated crossing. The older of the sisters, at 11, was released from ICU rapidly, while the younger at 7 is still in intensive care. The street, Feree Drive, has three sets of unguarded tracks, including the crossing at which the tragic accident occurred.

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Court allows suit over North Dakota train derailment

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

Canadian Pacific Railway's attempt to block a lawsuit was denied by the Supreme Court. Residents of Minot, ND are filing the lawsuit against CP, whose train derailed in 2002 and released toxic anhydrous ammonia farm fertilizer into the air over the city. The toxic fumes killed one local man and caused damage to several other residents. In 2006, a U.S district judge ruled that federal law protected CP from any claims that might arise from the derailment. However, the federal law changed the same year. Now, the Supreme Court has denied that CP is protected.

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CN Railway under-reporting train problems?

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

Chicagoland municipalities are claiming that Canadian National Railway has failed to disclose all of the accidents and delays that occurred earlier this year at their grade crossings. The Regional Answer to Canadian National (TRAC) claims that CN did not account for numerous incidents - at least 18 delays due to gate malfunctions, and a handful of accidents, including a brush fire started from track sparks which caused damage to a building, several trailers, and a vehicle.

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Brain Injuries

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

While the vast majority of our cases are railroad-related, the high concentration of railroad-related brain injuries has forced our attorneys to become experts in brain injury law. If you have been a victim and have suffered a brain injury, our attorneys and staff are well-equipped to assist you in any cases involving traumatic brain injury.

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Massachusetts trolley crash may lead to cell phone ban

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

A train trolley crash underneath downtown Boston left 50 passengers injured last Friday. The conductor admitted that he was looking down at the time of the crash as he was texting his girlfriend. Officials are cracking down - the head of the Boston-area transit authority is pushing for a ban on cell phone usage for any employee working aboard mass transit carriers (buses and trains).

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Three family members in train-car collision survive without injuries

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

Three members of a Hannibal, MO family - a father, his 4-year-old daughter, and his 2-year-old son, were headed back from a fishing trip on Tuesday when they began crossing a railroad crossing at the wrong time. Their van was immediately pummeled by an incoming train. Amazingly, though the van was destroyed, no one in the family was injured. The crossing itself is outfitted with flashing lights but no protective gate.

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Why do train derailments happen?

By Pottroff & Karlin LLC | railroad news

Two umbrella categories can be used to describe how and why derailments occur: technological malfunction (which includes machinery which unexpectedly fails and unkempt, dangerous tracks) and human error (such as mistakes made by the conductor or engineer, inattentiveness or otherwise). It should be emphasized that both of these things are bound to happen with time. Humans, even when well trained and highly qualified, are going to make errors. And in a system like our railroad system, technological errors and malfunctions are bound to occasionally take place.

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