Nashville Train Accident Lawyers

Fighting for Tennessee clients injured by railroad accidents

Train accidents usually involve serious injury and complicated liability issues. They also happen more frequently in Tennessee than you might realize. Railroad crossings generally do not have an automated swing arm to prevent vehicles from proceeding, and are often only marked with crossbuck signals. This lack of safety precautions has led to pedestrians and drivers being struck unexpectedly by an oncoming train.

The Rocky McElhaney Law Firm handles wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases stemming from railroad accidents, and we use our extensive experience in personal injury cases to get you the best possible results. We make sure our investigators get to the scene of the accident before the railroad company does to ensure that all evidence is collected, and witnesses are properly interviewed.

Train accidents involving cars

Whether boarding the RTA Music City Star or an Amtrak train, you assume you are safe. Millions of people rely on public transportation to commute to work, school or for vacationing purposes – and probably never think twice about the potential risks they take crossing railroad tracks every day. But the data is real, and people are dying close to home and on or near the tracks.

According to data collected by the non-profit organization Operation Lifesaver, three out of four crashes occur within 25 miles of a motorist's home. Fifty percent of all crashes occur within five miles of home.  If the crash is involving a train, due to the size, speed and lack of safety restraints, railroad-related injuries tend to be catastrophic. In fact, a motorist is almost 20 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than in a collision involving another motor vehicle.

Operation Lifesaver’s data also reflects that in 2018 there were 2,214 collisions between trains and other vehicles, resulting in 819 injuries and 270 fatalities. Per their research:

The primary causes of these railroad crossing accidents are:

• Unmarked railway crossings
• Poorly maintained railway crossings (broken lights, overgrown vegetation)
• Improperly maintained tracks and equipment
• Negligence on the part of the engineer, conductor, fireman or brakeman
• Speeding or going too slow (both the train and the car)

Collisions with other trains and derailments are less common, but they are equally dangerous. These, too, can be caused by the reasons listed above. Injuries on platforms or in train stations could be related to unsafe premises (slippery floors, broken lights, faulty handrails, etc.), or by inclement weather, among other things.