Railroad Crossing Accidents

Arizona Railroad Crossing Accident Claims

Attorneys find that the usual cause is a defective safety guard, semaphore, or other railroad equipment—the driver of an automobile enters a crossing with confidence—and is hit by a train. Sometimes a car-train collision is partially or entirely due to the inattention of a careless employee, railroad maintenance problems, or the negligence of another motorist. The railroad company will have investigators on the scene within hours. Do the occupants of the car have anyone investigating on their behalf?

The Federal Highway Administration's Office of Safety reports that in a recent year public highway-rail crossing accidents resulted in 295 deaths and 893 injuries. The United States has approximately 150,000 public grade crossings. Of these crossings, approximately 35,500 have gates, 25,000 have flashing lights, and 1,200 have highway traffic signals, wigwags, and bells.*

If a member of your family was injured or killed in a railroad crossing accident, it is important that you promptly hire an attorney with the experience and resources to mount a thorough investigation.

Witnesses must be interviewed while their memories are fresh and physical evidence needs to be preserved, including photographs of the scene of the accident. The appropriate team of experts in accident reconstruction, physics, and railroad safety need to begin work on the case.

If you would like to speak with one of our lawyers about a railroad crossing accident, please contact our Phoenix law office to arrange for a free consultation. Our attorneys have been handling a wide variety of car accident claims for over twenty-three years, including those involving traumatic injury or wrongful death. If you hire our firm to represent you, our attorneys will soon be at the scene of the accident, building a strong case to see that you recover maximum compensation for your loss.

These complex cases typically involve railroad accusations of comparative fault so preservation of evidence is critical. Railroad crossing victims often suffer such catastrophic injuries that a settlement may be reached only after our firm retains experts to calculate life-care costs resulting from brain, spinal cord, and other injuries—or the value of the emotional and economic loss of support suffered by survivors in a wrongful death case. Our lawyers will see that experts handle every aspect of the investigation and medical evaluation of your case.