Railroad Accident Attorneys Obtain $24 Million For Their Clients
(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 18, 2008 ) Saint Louis, Missouri
A six-week personal injury trial over a railroad crash recently came to a close in Minnesota. The railroad accident trial dealt with four wrongful death claims filed against BNSF railroad. Apparently the jury awarded the families of the four individuals killed $24 million. The four were traveling in one vehicle and were hit by a BNSF train at a railroad crossing. The train was allegedly travelling at 60 mph. BNSF alleged the train accident victims were trying to beat the train when they were hit.
The jury in this train crash lawsuit disagreed, finding that the railroad accident occurred because the railroad crossing warning signals were faulty, and the victims were not adequately warned of the oncoming train.
Although the railroad was found at fault in this train accident, not all railroad lawsuits filed for faulty warning signals will result in such a verdict. Railroad accidents are thoroughly investigated and subsequent lawsuits rely heavily on the particular facts found. To find more about FELA claims visit http://www.railroadaccidentlawgroup.com/about-fela.html.
For instance, in a recent Missouri railroad accident, faulty railroad crossing signals did not make a railroad company liable for a wrongful death claim arising from a train accident. The facts of the case were different. The truck driver allegedly ignored the railroad warning signals because he had frequently driven past this particular crossing. He was aware the warning signals were faulty, often signaling a train when a train was not present or approaching. In this case, although the warning signals were defective and the truck driver had previously been inconvenienced by such signals, it did not warrant him driving past the signals without extreme caution.