The railroad industry, like other transportation industries in the U.S. is sometimes liable for injuries commuters and drivers sustain in a train accident. For instance, in April of 2003 almost 130 people were injured when, after a train engineer error an Amtrak train and Long Island Rail Road train bumped into each other inside the Penn Station tunnel in New York City. In this case, Amtrak acknowledged fault and, as a result, is culpable for the injuries caused to the commuters and employees of both trains.
Railroad accidents are not limited to train derailments, collisions or other accidents, many people are injured and killed by trains each year at ineffectively gated railroad crossings. Railroad signal malfunction do present a major danger to the public, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, although because the instances are claimed to be rare, the danger is not considered great. However, the New York Times compiled an analysis of train accidents caused my malfunctioning railroad signals and found at least 400 accidents in which 45 people were killed and 130 injured. All of these accidents were related to railroad signals that either did not function properly or failed to activate at the signal of an oncoming train.
The Association of American Railroads consistently downplays the importance of signal malfunction noting that many train accidents are actually caused by unsafe drivers who ignore railroad crossing signals or actually drive around them. Additionally, they have stated that many of the reports of malfunctioning signals cannot be confirmed and therefore are of little importance. There are specific instances of railroad workers detaching warning signals, either for maintenance or accidentally without providing alternate warnings to drivers, but those instances have not been addressed although they were the focus of a 2002 agency advisory. The New York Times study noted that nearly 17% of the train accidents they reported on had some sort of rail maintenance or equipment inspection involvement.
Although federal guidelines dictate that railroad companies maintain the warning signals on their tracks, the frequency of signal problems is difficult to ascertain. The railroads do not have to report malfunctions so although there is data to suggest that in 2003 there were at least 9000 calls about signal malfunction, there is no supporting data from the railroads to support those claims. As a result, many signals are not fixed until a problem or accident has already occurred.
Another factor in the railroad signal issue is usage of local resources. For instance, in smaller towns the police may be depended upon to help people cross railroad tracks when signals are malfunctioning, to protect the public, but this is a drain on local economies where the police forces are small and they have other and more important tasks to complete.
If you have been injured in a train accident or you know someone who has, you are not without recourse. There are strict statutes of limitations involved in train accident cases and the railroad industry is likely to pressure you to settle. Contact a personal injury attorney and protect your rights.