A Metro North train derails killing and injuring people near Spuyten Duyvil Station. News that an engineer’s dozing off for a few fateful moments likely contributed to the train derailment that killed four people and injured more than 60 others in New York is heartbreaking but, unfortunately, not surprising, say railroad injury attorneys with Jacksonville’s Harrell and Harrell.
The Metro-North Railroad derailment in the Bronx happened when the commuter train barreled around a 30mph curve at 82 miles per hour early Sunday. Engineer William Rockefeller said he tried to stop the train, but it was too late. The failed to stop and all seven cars and locomotive of the train, carrying roughly 150 passengers from suburban Poughkeepsie to Manhattan, rolled off the track and over a bend where the Hudson and Harlem rivers meet.
Statistics from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) show that improper train handling was the fifth leading cause of train derailment accidents on the mainline between 2001 and 2010. Top causes were:
- Broken rails or welds
- Track geometry
- Bearing failures
- Broken wheels
- Train handling
Statistically, trains are considered a safe mode of travel. But when accidents happen and you or your dependents are injured, you are entitled to fair compensation for your injuries and losses. Contact a railroad injury lawyer with Jacksonville’s Harrell and Harrell at 800-251-1111. We serve clients throughout North and Central Florida as well as South Georgia.