Train Accidents

This week’s Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia is a tragedy, as is the decades-long failure of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak to provide safe, positively controlled rail transportation to patrons across the county, particularly in the Northeast region. As the NTSB and its parties continue to sort through the rubble and uncover what caused this horrific event Tuesday evening, one thing that appears reasonably clear is that the passengers aboard this speeding train, those…

Transportation attorney Kevin Durkin on the legal ramifications of the Amtrak derailment and train crash liability.

News continues round the clock on the tragic train derailment in Philadelphia last night (May 12, 2015) as rescuers continue a search-and-rescue mission into the night for people still reported missing on the manifest. Reporters from around the world are reporting on the fact that the 32-year-old Amtrak engineer of Amtrak Train Number 188 was being interviewed by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators who have been working at the scene all day, the video…

Investigators this morning uncovered the black box in the tragic Amtrak train crash in Philadelphia that has left at least seven dead and more than 200 injured. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators revealed that the Amtrak train was traveling about 100 miles per hour when it reached a curve on its route in northeast Philadelphia traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York carrying 238 passengers and five crew members. Officials are reporting that the…

In what is being called by Philadelphia’s Mayor as an “absolute, disastrous mess” last night (May 12, 2015), an Amtrak train derailed reportedly leaving six people dead and nearly 150 more people hospitalized. Six of those reportedly are in critical condition and a representative from the Mayor’s office said that those who were able to leave the train are like “the walking wounded.” National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials are on the scene investigating as…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is on the scene of the crash of two trains in Arkansas that has left at least five people in critical condition. It has been reported that a passenger train operated by the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad as an historic excursion tour from Springdale to Van Buren, Arkansas broke down during its tour and a second repair train came looking for the broken down train in an effort to…

As rescue workers and investigators continue to sift through the catastrophic wreckage of 72 tanker cars that derailed in the town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, questions continue to be asked concerning potential legal actions that may result from this derailment and explosion. In the wake of the terrible tragedy that has claimed the lives of up to 60 people, Clifford Law Offices has been asked what laws and what courts will be available to those who…

The Illinois Supreme Court today entered an order that brings an end to the case of Rachel Barton vs. Metra and Chicago NorthWestern Railroad. The railroads agreed to pay Barton $35 million for injuries sustained seven years ago. Barton was severely injured in January, 1995, when the conductor allowed the train to leave the station while Barton was pinned to its door. After a month-long trial, three years ago, a jury found Metra and Chicago…