Pennsylvania Personal Injury Blog

On Thursday, May 6th, 2010, a commuter train hit a passenger car in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, injuring one person. The car was apparently stuck between gates at a crossing when the train collided with it. According to AJC, the accident caused the car to overturn and suffer severe damage. There are no further reports as to why the car was between the gates or why the train didn't stop, but no injuries were reported on the train.

A witness said that the train, headed for Norristown, was moving slowly and approaching the station when the Philadelphia train accident happened. Many train passengers were unaware of the accident and remained on the train until Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority explained what had happened and asked them to exit the train.

Unfortunately, accidents happen, but that does not lessen the ill effects, injuries, possible inability to work and so forth that often come to Pennsylvania car accident victims. People involved in Philly injury accidents may have a hard time paying their medical bills, experience a loss in pay if they are unable to work and be forced to deal with difficult physical circumstances either while in recovery or permanently, if their injuries are catastrophic.

If you have been a victim of a Pennsylvania car accident and find yourself in any of the above situations, know that you are entitled to seek compensation for your financial losses. The experienced Philadelphia injury attorneys at Cherry, Fieger and Marciano, LLP can help you learn your rights and ensure that your constitutional rights are protected. Call today at 888-684-7192 for a free consultation of your case.

Metrolink, a commuter rail agency, agreed to pay about $30 million to settle most of the lawsuits from a derailment that killed 11 people and injured another 180 on January 26, 2005. A driver, Juan Alvarez, was trying to commit suicide and parked his gas-drenched SUV on the tracks.

A fast-moving Metrolink train struck the SUV, derailed and struck a parked Union Pacific locomotive before colliding with another Metrolink train traveling in the other direction.

According to an article, an attorney for the plaintiffs said Metrolink agreed to settle nearly 90 % of the cases, including nine wrongful death claims and 15 serious injury cases. Both sides are trying to resolve the remaining cases ahead of trial set for January 4.

Alvarez was convicted last year of murder for causing the crash and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms.

If the civil trial proceeds, attorneys will argue the wreck could have been prevented if the engineer had hit the emergency brake. The engineer said he applied the emergency brake as soon as he realized the SUV was parked across the tracks. However, data from the train showed the engineer applied the service brake for six seconds, instead of immediately hitting the emergency brake.

It was the deadliest rail disaster in California history until last year, when a Metrolink train collided with a freight train in suburban Chatsworth, killing 25 people. A federal investigation revealed a number of safety violations, including a text message sent by the commuter train’s engineer seconds before the collision.

Continue reading "California Train Derailment Victims Settle for $30M" »

The engineer of a Metrolink commuter train that crashed and killed 25 and injured at least 130 people in California last year, was planning to let a railroad fan operate the locomotive on the day of the accident. According to this article by the Associated Press that appeared on Philly.com, a transcript of the text messages by engineer Robert Sanchez was released this week. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened a two-day hearing into the collision that outlined the days and minutes that led up to the deadly crash.

The text messages showed that Sanchez allowed a fan to ride in the cab several days before the crash. He was also planning to let him run the train between four stations on the evening of the crash.

Federal investigators said Sanchez sent and received 57 text messages while on duty that day. One was sent 22 seconds before his train slammed head-on into the freight train. The large number of text messages was not uncommon for the engineer in the days leading up to the crash. Sanchez died on-the-job in the crash.

According to the article, there was no sign of mechanical error involving the Metrolink train that was carrying 220 passengers. The evidence is consistent with the Metrolink engineer failing to stop. The Metrolink Train and the Union Pacific Train were traveling at about 40 miles per hour when they crashed into each other. The NTSB panel conducting the hearing focused on cell phone use by train crew members; the operation of trackside signals designed to prevent collisions; and oversight and compliance with safety procedures during the crash.

Continue reading "Metrolink Engineer Text Messaged Before Fatal Crash" »