Railroad Accident Lawyer in Seattle, Washington Answers FAQs

Railroad accident law can be complicated, which is why it is important to retain a lawyer prepared to help you through the complex legal process. At Phillips & Webster, our attorneys can help you determine what caused the accident and who is responsible. After an accident has occurred, a railroad accident lawyer at our Seattle, Washington, firm will work as quickly as possible to preserve the scene's evidence, interview witnesses, identify jurisdictional issues, determine liability, and protect your rights during interviews with authorities and insurance representatives.

For your convenience, we have compiled the following list of frequently asked client questions. If you have any additional queries, or if you would like to schedule a case consultation and review, contact a railroad accident lawyer, today.

• Does your law firm know about the railroad's own internal rules?
• What experience do your lawyers bring that gives me an advantage in train injury litigation?
• How does your firm evaluate a train accident and injury?
• How do you prove that the crossing was defective and unreasonably dangerous?
• Aren't there too many lawsuits filed against railroads?
• Are railroads frequently negligent?

Does your law firm know about the railroad companies' own internal rules?

Yes, each railroad accident lawyer at Phillips & Webster understands the two federally approved manuals that are written by the railroad companies, outlining the daily operations, procedures and conduct of rail operations. Operations Rule book dictates how trains operate over the track. A Maintenance of Way book deals with the maintenance of the track and the railroad's right-of-way. Since there are only four major railroad companies in the United States, we are able to use our experience trying prior train injury cases to help us in future cases.

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What experience do your lawyers bring that gives me an advantage in train injury litigation?

Phillips & Webster has a team of experienced trial lawyers who know what evidence needs to be pinpointed to try a railroad accident case. Without this knowledge, a trial lawyer usually begins at a disadvantage.

For example, some crossings fall under the extra-hazardous crossing doctrine. Having working warning lights at a railroad crossing alone does not assure that you are safe. Among the approximately 3,000 collisions that occur at railroad crossings every year, nearly half of the collisions happen at crossings with active warning devices.

Trains have a superior right-of-way and this baseline is used when determining responsibility for any accident or injury that occurs at a crossing. However, when a crossing is deemed extra-hazardous, the railroad company owes a greater duty of care to protect crossing cars and pedestrians from the danger.

Before any responsibility can be placed on the railroad company for the hazard, it must be shown that the railroad company knew or should have known that the circumstances of the crossing created a risk or a “dangerous trap.” If a dangerous condition has existed for enough time, the railroad company will be charged with constructive knowledge, or knowledge which they would have had if they had used ordinary care or diligence. Even if the railroad company did not create the hazard, they would be responsible for the extra danger it presented. Important factors used to determine if a railroad crossing is dangerous include:

• The crossing's location (urban or rural)
• Visual obstructions
• Adequate lighting
• Track curvature at or approaching the crossing
• Weather conditions
• Background noises

After a railroad accident, railroad companies and their insurance providers will immediately dispatch investigators to examine the accident site. These professionals will take self-serving photographs, conduct interviews with leading questions, and even quickly remove any significant visual obstructions in the railroad's right-of-way. At Phillips & Webster, we have the resources and experience necessary to turn the tables and level the playing field.

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How does your firm evaluate a train accident and injury?

Our goal at Phillips & Webster is to closely preserve the crossing and the motorist's view at the time of the collision. We know from our experience, that the railroad company will take remedial measures that alter the accident scene. Therefore,

• We thoroughly investigate the railroad accident scene as soon as possible, photographing it (including aerial photographs) and videotaping it.
• We carefully study the facts surrounding the railroad accident and the injuries and damages arising from it.
• We enlist the services of outside experts to assist in analyzing the railroad accident scene for design defects and corresponding train handling errors.
• We gather the information needed to prove that the railroad company knew, or should have known, of the defective crossing and of the need for special train handling.

If you would like us to evaluate your claim, contact a railroad accident lawyer at our Seattle, Washington, office today and schedule a complimentary consultation.

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How do you prove that the crossing was defective and unreasonably dangerous?

Here is some of the evidence we consider in attempting to prove your railroad accident case.

• First, we'll evaluate the visual hazards. Were you able to see a train at a distance under normal circumstances? Were there unique hazards that may have caused an avoidable collision? We'll need to determine whether there was any obstruction on the track. Was the track aligned?
• We will do extensive interviews of local residents, witnesses, the police department, and neighbors, among others, to piece together the sequence of events at the time of the collision. That way, we might determine if the train whistle sounded as required, or whether the crossing guard lights were functioning. We'll also document and measure the scene of the collision.
• We need to determine whether this is a particularly hazardous crossing and whether other accidents have occurred there as well. Our investigation will cover the history of that railroad's compliance with safety standards and maintenance of equipment.
• In evaluating the train's function, we'll determine if the handling was negligent in some way. The “speed tape,” for each engine will tell us whether the train was speeding. As well, we'll include in our evaluation the number of tracks; the speed of the adjoining highway; whether school buses cross this particular crossing; and whether trucks containing hazardous material or Amtrak trains use this particular crossing.
• Our investigation will include information from the Federal Railroad Administration and the state's Department of Transportation.

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Aren't there too many lawsuits filed against railroads?

You might actually be surprised to find there is a great deal of underreporting of serious train crossing collisions. A report before Congress by the Department of Transportation on highway-railroad grade crossing safety, recently concluded that railroads failed to report 21 percent of serious crossing collisions to the National Response Center (NRC) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In the case of unreported train-vehicle collisions that occurred between May 2003 and December 2004, 116 people were killed. Eventually, the collisions were reported, but far too late to allow any prompt and accurate investigation of the scene that might be the basis of a successful litigation.

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Are railroads frequently negligent?

There are many different departments that are supposed to offer safety oversight over our railroads. Unfortunately, any one of them can fail. A railroad accident can be caused by:

• an oversight in the Railroad Operation Department that controls track movement
• a conductor who has not been adequately trained or is inexperienced
• negligent firemen or brakeman
• negligent public projects engineers or road foreman of engines
• civil engineering departments that failed to implement rail crossings correctly or may have designed defective railroad crossings
• a railroad company that does not follow Federal Railroad Administration regulations
• defective products

Considering all that can go wrong, it is imperative that our skilled investigators get to work immediately to determine the exact cause of the collision. The railroad and federal and local agencies will dispatch investigators to the scene right away. The sooner you have a team of railroad accident lawyers working for you, the better protected your rights will be.

When a train accident occurs, the cost resulting from traumatic injuries is the last thing you need to worry about. The Washington state train accident lawyers at Phillips & Webster will use their experience to thoroughly investigate the train crash site, and with the help of accident reconstructionists, explore every avenue to pinpoint any unreasonable dangerous conditions and negligence that might have contributed to the collision. We'll do the work, study the facts, and prosecute with hard facts.

If you have been injured in a railroad accident, contact a lawyer at Phillips & Webster's Seattle, Washington, firm today. We have obtained significant verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients; we can help you too.

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