Westchester County Train Accident

Trains are a very popular transportation option for individuals visiting or working in the city. The train brings with it a number of appealing benefits, including convenience, economical fares and reliability. Most people assume that trains are also safe. Statistics show that there are a higher number of car accident injuries and truck accident injuries than injuries from a train related accident. While railroad accidents may be less frequent, they are more dangerous, with a greater risk of severe injuries or death. Such accidents include accidents that occur at railroad crossings such as a train hitting a car or a pedestrian. Other types of accidents occur in train stations or on platforms such as slip and fall accidents. Still other accidents involve derailments or collisions. Victims of train accidents often suffer serious injuries such as injuries to the head, back, spinal cord, and neck. Pedestrians struck by trains often suffer traumatic amputations and bone fractures. The law related to train accidents can be complicated, often involving a governmental entity such as the Metro North Railway or the Long Island Rail Road. If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury in a train-related accident, it is important that you immediately speak with an experienced Westchester County train accident attorney to ensure that your legal rights are protected.

Types of train accidents

Victims are injured in train-related accidents in stations, on platforms, on trains, and at railroad crossings. In addition, railroad workers are often the victim of accidents including being struck by trains. Common reasons of train accidents include:

• Derailments
• Conductor error
• Error by other railroad workers
• Defective railroad crossings
• Track problems
• Poor maintenance
• Inadequate signal interchanges
• Collisions with cars
• Collisions with other trains
• Defective crossing signals
• Failure to use horn
• Falls
• Operator fatigue
• Drug and alcohol use
• Excessive speed
• Pedestrians falling on tracks
• Pedestrians being struck by trains

In addition, victims are injured on trains, on platforms and in train stations as a result of intentional acts of violence. If the assault or other act of violence was due in part because a train station, platform or train car had poor lighting and poor security, the entity that manages the train facility may share legal liability with the perpetrator of the violent act.

Pursuing a claim

If you were injured in a train-related accident that was caused because another person was negligent, you have the right to file a claim against and pursue compensation.

• Medical bills: Through a personal injury claim you may be able to recover expenses for medical treatment, your hospital stay, surgery, over-the-counter and prescription medications, rehabilitation, counseling, visits to your doctors, and in-home care.
• Lost income: If your injury is serious you will miss work. In fact, you may not be able work for months. If your injury is permanent you may not be able to work again. You can demand compensation for the income and benefits you lost while recovering from your injuries.
• Pain and suffering: You may also be able to recover compensation for the physical pain and mental suffering that you experienced as a result of the accident.
• Wrongful death: If a loved one was killed in a train collision, derailment or in some other type of train-related accident, your loved one's personal representative may be able pursue a wrongful death wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of your loved one's estate.

Contact the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates

If you have been seriously injured in a train collision or derailment, or in an accident in a train station or on a platform, you are probably facing significant medical expenses, time away from work, and a range of difficult emotions. Contact the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates to discuss the details of your case. Our staff regularly handles complex damage cases, including claims for wrongful death and personal injury arising out of train accidents, subway accidents, car accidents and construction accidents. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Nassau County, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk County and Westchester County.

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