July 21, 2011

Train accident tragedy strikes Oak Forest, Illinois

Our Chicago personal injury lawyers were sad to read this afternoon about the Illinois train accident in Oak Forest, Illinois, the hometown of a member of our staff. Oak Forest is located less than thirty miles southwest of Chicago. The Rock Island train to and from Chicago passes through Oak Forest multiple times daily, making the Cook County suburb a popular location for Chicago commuters.

This afternoon, one of those commuter trains heading to Chicago was involved in a horrific train-car collision, killing two women in their eighties and sending eight passengers to local hospitals with train accident personal injuries. One passenger reported that he believed the train was going to tip over, which was what he was afraid of. All 89 passengers on board the Metra Rock Island train to Chicago, which was scheduled to arrive at 4:33 p.m., were evacuated safely.

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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May 14, 2011

Suburban Metra train collision; 1 dead and several injured

During yesterday morning’s commute, a serious collision occurred between the Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line and a trailer truck in the Mount Prospect neighborhood. The Union Pacific Northwest Line (UPNW) runs from Harvard to downtown Chicago and already makes several stops before reaching Mount Prospect. The collision between the truck and the train killed the truck driver and caused the front train car of the Metra train to derail. All of the train cars remained upright, but a few dozen passengers received personal injuries from the train accident and were taken to area hospitals or treated on the scene. None of the personal injuries received by the train passengers were believed to be life-threatening.

The derailment of the train car was caused by the impact from the trailer of the truck, which landed to the side of the intersection. The train came to a stop after clearing the crossing. However, the second car of the train was blackened from soot because the truck had caught fire. Passengers reported that the cars filled up with smoke; passengers popped out windows on the upper level of the train to exit. Many passengers apparently feared that the accident was a terrorist attack, but Mount Prospect Police Commander dismissed those fears, stating that the situation appears to be “a driver in a hurry.” One passenger noted that the impact was like an explosion.

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Posted In: Current Issues , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury , Public Transit , Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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April 19, 2011

Chicago-bound train collision results in two deaths

Our Chicago wrongful death lawyers were very sad to read yesterday about a Chicago-bound train collision that resulted in two deaths. A Chicago-bound coal train rear-ended a train carrying maintenance equipment Sunday morning, killing two crew members, shutting down the tracks, and upsetting Chicago-bound Amtrak train services.

Both trains were headed east when the deadly train accident happened at around 7:00 in the morning. The coal train was traveling with 130 loads of coal, set to be transferred to another line in Chicago and to be sent to an Eastern utility. The other train involved in the collision was hauling 34 cars of maintenance equipment belonging to the railroad. The conductor and the engineer on the coal train were both killed; the crew on the other train were not injured.

Initial reports from the deadly train accident indicated that 10 cars on the maintenance train derailed as well as one of the three locomotives on the coal train. Some cars were on their sides and maintenance equipment has been scattered. The crash also started a fire that affected the locomotives on both trains. Every day, these tracks are used by about 40 freight trains, but use of the tracks has been halted while emergency crews are at the crash site and an investigation is pending regarding the deadly train accident.

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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January 10, 2011

Illinois train vs. vehicle crash deaths rose in 2010

ChicagoBreakingNews.com reported that Illinois train-vehicle deaths and pedestrian accidents at public railroad crossings increased in 2010 according to safety officials. Seventeen fatalities were reported between January 2010 and November 2010 at Illinois rail crossings and 10 deaths of pedestrians hit by trains. Last year’s tragic numbers reversed a recent downward trend in collisions. Ten fatalities involving train-versus-vehicle crashes occurred statewide in all of 2009 when there 15 in 2008, 16 in 2007, and 18 in 2006 and 2005.

Last year, the ten fatalities of pedestrians hit by trains attempting to cross tracks was the highest number since 2007. The trends were also upward for train-vehicle collisions involving both Illinois personal injuries and deaths. Officials estimate that collisions totals will be 125 to 130 in 2010 when all of the train-versus-car accidents are tallied.

This week, officials launched an attack against the rising numbers. Heart-tugging public service videos are now airing to push public attention to the problem. The administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration reported that the public service videos are aimed to shock the public into being more cautious near trains and railroad crossings. He explained that train crossing accidents are a nightmarish experience for locomotive engineers and other members of the train crews, leaving an indelible mark on the hard working engineer’s psyches and souls.

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury , Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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October 9, 2010

Chicago teenager in critical condition after sustaining train accident injuries

It has not even been a week since the Cook County accident attorneys blogged about the dangers of Chicago-area train crossings. Unfortunately, such accidents were in the news again recently after a Chicago teenage boy received serious personal injuries after being hit by a Metra commuter train on Chicago’s Northwest Side on Tuesday afternoon.

The Chicago Breaking News Center reported that the Chicago train injury accident occurred at roughly 3:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday afternoon as a group of teenagers ran across the tracks near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Nagle Avenue. While the other Chicago teenagers made it across the tracks safely, the 17 year-old teenage boy received serious injuries and was rushed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. The Cook County train injury accident occurred close (less than one-half of a mile) from Taft High School.

Disheartening reports reveal that Taft High School students “commonly” race across the railroad tracks at Northwest Highway at Nagle Avenue after the red light have already started flashing. The lights flash when the trains appear to be roughly a mile from the intersection. This particular railroad crossing recently topped a list of dangerous railroad crossings in the six-county Chicago region, according to data released from the Illinois Commerce Commission. This railroad crossing had five vehicle-train accidents between 2005 and 2009.

The Cook County injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti want to remind our readers to practice heightened safety at train crossings. The warning flashing lights exist for a reason – to signify that a train is approaching! Individuals cannot fight massive, moving steel machines. Please be patient at railroad crossings.

For more information on the Chicago injured teen, visit Chicago Breaking News Center.

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Posted In: Pedestrian , Personal Injury , Train Accidents

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October 4, 2010

Car clips Chicago Brown Line train

A car clipped the back of a CTA Brown Line train on Saturday afternoon after unsafely reportedly going around a grade-crossing gate outside of a North Side train station, according to police and CTA officials. Luckily, no people were injured.

Like the car-train accident this weekend, Chicago train safety has been an issue that has repeatedly gathered media attention in the recent months. Metra engineers have reported seeing pedestrians running around downed gates and vehicles stopped on the tracks on a daily occurrence. The number of wrongful deaths at Illinois rail crossings in the first few months of 2010 already got close to the number of deaths reported in all of 2009. Close calls are a near daily occurrence.

Still, many people refuse to wait for oncoming trains. For example, in Chicago, a train’s camera captured a family racing across a track. A woman carrying her one-year-old goddaughter did not make it. These types of preventable accidents are train engineers’ fears. The danger is especially high during rush hours and when road construction creates traffic and impatient drivers.

Please view the video below to learn more about Chicago train safety in order to prevent needless train accident wrongful deaths.


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August 9, 2010

Construction set to improve safety at dangerous Chicago railroad crossing

A rail crossing that is infamous for Chicago railroad car crashes is set to be rebuilt this month in order to improve safety before high school classes resume for students who cross the path over the railroad to get to school. Additionally, the Illinois Commerce Commission has urged that the city of Chicago increase traffic enforcement to reduce Chicago train-vehicle crashes at the congested Nagle Avenue crossing on the Union Pacific Railroad corridor.

According to a Chicago Tribune report, vehicles can be stopped on the tracks at Nagle and many other dangerous Chicago railroad crossings on a daily basis, which is seriously dangerous. Drivers routinely take those risks and despite knowledge of the consistent law breaking, most of the hundreds of tickets issued to drivers at the Chicago railroad crossing for failing to yield to trains or for stopping on the tracks were issued by Union Pacific police, not Chicago police officers. Planned changes to increase safety are planned for between August 23 and September 3 and include new signs, better pavement markings, and new concrete crossing panels. City of Chicago traffic engineers are also evaluating whether changes in the timing of signals would keep the rail crossing clear of vehicles when the traffic lights change from green to red.

More information about the fixes for the dangerous Chicago railroad crossing is available at the Chicago Tribune.

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Pedestrian , Public Transit , Train Accidents

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July 26, 2010

Two killed in Chicago-area train accident

The Southtown Star reported that a Chicago South Shore commuter train collided with a car on Friday just east of Gary. The Illinois train accident resulted in the deaths of town women in the car after it drove around a crossing arm at a rail crossing. The train collision happened when the southbound car went around an arm at the crossing on the Lake-Porter county line. Since 2007, at least five other people have died in similar Illinois train crashes. The local police stated that two women were killed and two people received personal injuries in the train accident in the Friday morning crash – a young child and another adult. Nobody who was riding in the eight-car train was injured in the train accident. The train originated in South Bend and was bound for Chicago.

The injured child was airlifted to the University of Chicago Hospital following the train crash with serious internal personal injuries. The child’s mother was taken to Methodist Northlake Hospital. One witness told a reporter that she was two cars behind the car involved in the train crash and said that the car went around the gates. The witness said that the gates were down at the track intersection and one train had just cleared a set of tracks when the car’s driver went around the gate. The train collision pushed the vehicle several yards across the tracks.

In 2008, there were over 9000 train accidents, over 6000 serious personal injuries due to train accidents and over 600 train-related fatalities across the United States according to the Federal Railroad Administration of Safety Analysis. The train accident attorneys at Levin & Perconti want to remind all of our readers that it is extremely difficult for trains to come to a stop – even if they are moving slowly. Please remember to stay out of a train’s way for your safety.

For more information on the commuter rail train accident, click on the link to the Southtown Star article.

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June 22, 2010

Chicago transit fire results in smoke inhalation injuries for many

Chicago news authorities reported that a fire in the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) red line subway station caused many passengers to experience Chicago personal injuries Sunday after suffering smoke inhalation or respiratory problems. Nineteen terrified Chicago red line riders went to hospitals after a fire apparently caused by an electrical spark between two rails that ignited a greasy lubricant sprayed on train wheels. The train traveled through flames before making it to a Chicago platform, where passengers walked through dense smoke to exits leading to street level. But, by passing through the station, the train dragged the smoke further in the subway. Two people remained hospitalized with personal injuries as of Monday.

The Chicago Tribune reported that CTA officials yesterday blamed antiquated train technology and a perennial funding shortfall for the subway fire, but rail experts said relatively inexpensive fixes would greatly enhance safety and pay for themselves by significantly cutting rail-car repair costs. Investigators are examining video of the Chicago incident and are interviewing the crews operating three trains as well as riders to determine whether the CTA passengers got timely information and instructions in the emergency.

Although this fire resulted in several Chicago personal injuries, it could have been much more devastating. Ridership numbers from 2009 showed that the CTA had over 500 million rides throughout the year. The Chicago injury lawyers at Levin & Perconti hope the CTA fire victims a speedy recovery and hope that improvements are made to the public transit to prevent such problems in the future.

More information about the Chicago Transit Authority fire is available by clicking the link.

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June 11, 2010

Chicago man injured after contacting “third rail” of Blue Line

Chicago Breaking News Center reported that a 50 year-old Chicago man received personal injuries after coming into contact with the third rail at a Chicago Transit Authority (“CTA”) Blue Line station at Kedzie this afternoon at about 12:45 p.m. The Chicago train injury accident occurred on the northbound side of the tracks. The Chicago man was taken by the Chicago Fire Department paramedics to Cook County Stroger Hospital where he was listed in fair condition.

A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. Third rail systems presents a serious hazard for individuals who may fall into the tracks. The risk should be minimized by using platform screen doors or ensuring that the conductor “third” rail is on the side of the track away from the platform. Third rail systems must be fully grade separated or must implement some kind of mechanism to effectively stop pedestrians from walking onto the tracks at grade crossings. In 1992, the Supreme Court of Illinois affirmed a $1.5 million personal injury verdict against the Chicago Transit Authority for failing to stop an intoxicated man from walking onto the tracks at a grade crossing and attempting to urinate on the third rail.

As you can see, third rails can be extremely dangerous. Chicago area residents need to be vigilant when using the Chicago Transit Authority rail lines and avoid contact with the “third rail” to prevent serious personal injuries.

To read more about the Illinois train accident injuries.

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April 23, 2010

Crew deactivated warning system before deadly train crash

According to a preliminary federal and state of Illinois investigation disclosed earlier this week, a track crew inadvertently turned off the train gates and warning lights at a Chicago-area rail crossing last week, shortly before a deadly crash where a Chicago woman in her SUV was blindsided by a train. The Canadian National Railway train crew was working on signals and electrical circuits built near the crossing when the workers shut down all warnings to motorists about approaching trains.

Federal and state investigators state that the video that was shot from the Amtrak train’s locomotive while it was almost traveling nearly 79 miles per hour shows that the gates, flashing lights, and bells at the crossing did not turn on. The Federal Railroad Administration is leading the deadly train crash investigation, helped by Canadian National, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the National Transportation Safety Board. Officials stated that Canadian National crews had tried to fix the problem and thought they did, but they actually inadvertently deactivated the warning system, creating an unprotected crossing in the Chicagoland area that provided motorists no indication of oncoming trains.

Downloaded recordings do show that the train was sounding its horn and had working bells and flashing lights. Unfortunately, the crossing warning system did not work, which resulted in the wrongful death of a 26 year-old woman.

More information about the tragic deadly Chicago train crash is available here.

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Posted In: Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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January 25, 2010

Engineer blamed for 2008 train crash

Federal officials at the National Transportation Safety Board have called for railroads to install cameras and voice records in every control cab across the United States. The warning comes after the agency has reached a conclusion after the deadly commuter train collision with a freight train in 2008. The agency publicly warned last week that cellphone texting by engineers and conductors was a growing and lethal danger to consumers using the public transportation. The 2008 train crash has been blamed on a Metrolink engineer who passed a stop signal as he sent a message from his cell phone.

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August 20, 2009

Railroad injury lawsuit reaches $2 million settlement

A Chicago personal injury lawsuit recently reached a $2 million settlement, according to the Law Bulletin. The settlement reached was for the plaintiff’s personal injuries sustained when the commuter train he was on derailed. He sustained spinal damage and broken ribs.

To read more about the railroad injury settlement.

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Posted In: Train Accidents , Verdicts and Settlements

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July 5, 2009

Monorail crash kills driver at Disney

Two monorail trains at Disney World collided today, killing one of the drivers. The train collision occurred at about 2:00 a.m. A second employee was taken to a hospital to be checked, but none of the other seven on the trains received personal injuries.

To read more about the monorail crash.

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Posted In: Amusement Park Accidents , Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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June 23, 2009

Transit train crash kills 6, wounds dozens more

Yesterday’s commuter train collision in D.C. killed at least six people and resulted in the personal injury of scores of others. Cars of both trains were ripped open and smashed together in the worst train accident in the Metro system’s history.

To read more about the devastating train crash.

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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June 21, 2009

1 dead and 6 hurt in Illinois train derailment

One person has died and six people received personal injuries when a cargo train derailed in Illinois, causing an explosion and a fire. The train in Illinois was carrying chemicals that burned for hours, forcing evacuations of about 600 Chicago-area homes.

To read more about the Illinois train derailment.

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Posted In: Burn Injury , Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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May 27, 2009

Commercial vehicle industry needs enhancement

While lawmakers are focusing on auto safety standards, Congress should also strengthen its commitment to reducing wrongful deaths from auto accidents by focusing on safety in the commercial vehicle industry. A recent AAJ press release is pushing for enhancements in safety standards. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation there were 4,808 fatalities in crashes involving large trucks and 322 fatalities in crashes involving buses in 2007.

To read more about the commercial vehicle industry’s need for more regulation.

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Train Accidents

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May 15, 2009

Class action train accident lawsuit proceeds

The class-action train accident lawsuit over a 2005 derailment that resulted in 11 wrongful deaths is moving ahead despite a defense motion. The defense motion argued that certifying the lawsuit as a class action would set bad precedent. The train derailment resulted in the deaths of 11 passengers and the personal injuries of nearly 200 others.

To read more about the class action lawsuit.

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Posted In: Train Accidents , Wrongful Death

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April 28, 2009

AAJ calls on FRA to review safety protections for victims of railroad accidents

Recently, a new administrator was nominated to lead the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The American Association for Justice recently issued a release, calling on the FRA to review regulations issued under the Bush administration that weaken safety protections for consumers having received injuries in railroad accidents.

To read the AAJ release on railroad accident injuries.

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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March 4, 2009

Rail company responds to personal injury lawsuits over derailment and chemical spill

Union Pacific Railroad has denied that it owes personal injury damages to 1200 property owners, but has admitted that a train derailment and chemical spill caused damages to three houses, seven vehicles, and a semi-tractor trailer. A Union Pacific spokesperson states that the railroad wants to “make things right” with those who truly were injured by the incident.

To read more about the rail company’s response to the personal injury lawsuits.

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Train Accidents

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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