Syracuse Injury Lawyer Blog
Earlier today, two CSX employees abandoned a moving locomotive just seconds before a collision with another train. The New York train crash occurred in Dewitt, near Court Street. According to Syracuse.com, witnesses reported that it felt like an “earthquake” when the trains collided. Several cars derailed.
New York train accidents are more common than one would think. According to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) database, CSX has been involved in more than 80 accidents since 2008. The majority of these accidents were due to track switches that were improperly aligned. Per the FRA, other causes of CSX train accidents include the use of excessive horsepower, human factors (i.e., human errors), improper instruction, defective equipment and fouled tracks.
“We have handled several train accident cases over the past decade,” said Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq. “Each case has involved negligence on the part of the railroad, e.g., ignoring warnings about pedestrians crossing the tracks, speeding, improper track maintenance, and failing to use appropriate signal lights and warning devices.” Cases against the railroad are complicated because evidence necessary to establish railroad liability frequently goes missing. Things like speed tapes, event recorders and dispatch or inspection records quickly vanish. Bottar added, “a review of published court decisions reveals that several motions against railroads for the destruction of evidence. This pattern of behavior is suspicious, to say the least.”
To learn about your rights to recover for injuries arising out of a train accident, contact one of our New York train accident lawyers at (833) 268-8277 or by email at info@bottarleone.com.