Railroad Accident Lawyer in Sugar Land, TX

Fighting for What is Right – Call – (346) 249-5544

Here is a startling fact: a freight train can be as much as 4,000 times heavier than the weight of a standard four door automobile. Even more troublesome, a freight train can take as far as one mile to come to a stop, while the same standard four-door car requires less than 200 feet to come to a standstill.

A train accident can result in massive property damage, as well as the potential for people involved in the crash to suffer from life threatening injuries. If you suffer from one or more serious injuries caused by a train crash, then you need to hold the people and/or company responsible for your pain and suffering. Highly acclaimed personal injury attorney Adam Capetillo has spent years fighting for just compensation in train accident cases.

The legal backbone for filing a railroad accident claim is call the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

The Federal Railroad Safety Act

Prior to 1970, victims of railroad accidents had little or no legal recourse when it came to receiving just compensation for the negligence of a railroad company and/or the negligence of one or more railroad company employees. In response to growing anger among constituents, the United States Congress passed the landmark Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA). Created by the FRSA, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for performing investigations into all of the safety issues that develop in the railroad industry. The FRA also prosecutes railroad company and employee negligence. Since its inception, the FRA has enacted laws that set a maximum amount of cargo weight allowed for commercial transportation, as well as established clear guidelines for qualifying train engineers.

Type of Railroad Accidents

There are four primary types of accidents that occur at railroads.   Sugar Land, TX railroad accident lawyer, Adam Capetillo, has established a record of litigating each of these types of personal injury cases successfully.

Train Hits Vehicle

Motorists that try to beat moving trains at train crossings face the prospect of getting hit by the train. Fatal auto accidents involving a train happen frequently when a vehicle either stalls on a track or idles on a track while waiting for traffic to move. In many cases when a train hits a vehicle, the driver of the car hit by a train is considered at fault for being in harm’s way. However, there are special circumstances that make a railroad company and/or employee responsible, such as not sounding the warning horn when coming up on a train crossing.

Moving Train Hits a Pedestrian

Railroad company liability in the case of a pedestrian struck by a train comes into play for several possible reasons. First, there might not be any warning signs placed near the track to identify the track as an active track. Second, the railroad company might be negligent because it did not properly maintain a set of tracks. Poor track maintenance can cause someone to get stuck and hence, be unable to escape before a train arrives.

Derailment

This is the big one for railroad accident liability, as a derailment can leak dangerous chemicals that expose an entire community to life threatening ailments. Railroad derailments can result from shoddy track maintenance, as well as conductor error in judgment. Derailments can involve just one rail car, but it usually involves a long stretch of rail cars or even an entire train. Passenger car derailments often cause injuries to a large number of passengers. The key for your personal injury attorney is to prove a passenger train derailment was the result of company and/or conductor negligence.

Trains Crashing

Two heavy, fast moving trains that collide can produce catastrophic consequences that include multiple fatalities. The personal injury lawyers at Capetillo Law Firm look for evidence that proves one or both conductors failed to follow standard safety procedures. Moreover, we also investigate each company to determine if one of the companies was responsible for the maintenance of the rail line warning system.

Causes of Railroad Accidents

The leading causes of railroad accidents not only injure passengers, pedestrians, and motorists, the accidents can also injure railroad industry workers. The FRA releases a list of the most common causes of railroad accidents annually, with the following causes making the list for 2018.

• Failure of equipment
• Defective equipment
• Faulty train gear
• Human error
• Cargo issues
• Crossing signal malfunction
• Poor track maintenance
• Obstacles on tracks

Cargo issues typically involve weight, with some railroad companies skirting FRA regulations by overloading cargo on freight trains. Human error is a cause that requires the presentation of evidence linking poor judgment with a railroad accident. Defective equipment can lead our team of investigators back to the manufacturer of the equipment, which will exonerate the railroad company, yet still give our clients just compensation for pain and suffering.

Railroad Accident Lawyer Adam Capetillo Fights for Client Rights

Railroad companies spend millions of dollars every year defending charges of company and/or employee negligence in cases of railroad accidents. You can bet a railroad company will come to court with a team of accomplished attorneys that have litigated hundreds of railroad accident cases. If you or a loved have been injured in a railroad accident, even the legal playing field by contacting highly rated Sugar Land, TX personal injury lawyer, Adam Capetillo.

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