Millions of Americans depend on trains for daily commutes and travel, including in New Jersey where the train system is one of the busiest in the nation with 57,129,000 riders in 2023. The transit rails system in New Jersey provides 300,000 trips per weekday, including 93,305 from New Jersey Transit’s busiest station, New York Penn, alone.
Fortunately, train travel is an overall statistically safe means of travel, but that doesn’t mean accidents don’t happen. Train derailments and other accidents occur more than most people know. There were over 1,000 derailments in 2022 alone, resulting in injuries ranging from mild to catastrophic.
What Causes Train Accidents?
Every train accident requires an extensive investigation to determine the cause. Train systems in New Jersey and elsewhere are complex organizations with many contributing parts. When any of the many individuals central to train operations breach their duty of care to take all reasonable measures to prevent causing injury, and their breach of duty results in an accident with injuries and damages, they are liable for compensating victims.
Common causes of train accidents include the following:
- Conductor negligence
- Mechanical defects and failures
- Unprotected railroad crossings
- Track defects and damage
- Poor train maintenance
- Inexperienced or undertrained operators
- High train speeds that aren’t appropriate for the environment, terrain, or weather
- Improper braking
- Train signal malfunctions
- Overloaded or unbalanced cargo
Most train accidents stem from human error, including negligence, carelessness, fatigue, failure to follow safety protocols, and insufficient training.
What Common Injuries Occur in Train Accidents?
Train accidents are terrifying and chaotic. Passengers and their belongings crash and collide inside the train cars as the train derails, often tipping or rolling. Depending on the circumstances of the train accident, injuries range from mild to severe, sometimes even within the same crash or the same train car. Common injuries in train derailments include:
- Fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Lacerations, bruises, and abrasions
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Soft tissue injuries to knees, shoulders, wrists, and ankles
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Crush injuries
- Wrongful death
Disability, disfigurement, and loss of life are common in serious train accidents. Some accidents cause injuries to more than just passengers but also endanger entire communities. Cherry Hill personal injury victims deserve compensation from the individual, entity, or government agency at fault for the accident.
Common Damages in Train Accidents
Train accidents cause serious physical and emotional trauma to victims. Common damages train accident victims seek in compensation claims include property damage, medical expenses, future medical costs for injury-related care, reimbursement for lost income, diminished future earning capacity, and compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Because train accidents are terrifying and traumatic, many victims also experience emotional consequences and seek compensation for treatment for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Although financial compensation for non-economic damages like trauma, and pain and suffering cannot erase the consequences of the injury, it allows victims to seek the best medical treatment, relieves financial hardship, and provides a sense of justice.
How Can an Accident Attorney Help?
After suffering injuries in a train accident, you deserve financial accountability from those at fault. If a loved one suffered fatal injuries in a train accident, we are ready to help recover wrongful death compensation in Cherry Hill for surviving family members.
At Cuneo & Leonetti, we are long-time advocates for those who suffer injuries caused by another party’s carelessness. Call the train accident attorneys who will fight for the outcome you deserve.