In December, a deadly train accident occurred in Washington state and authorities are looking into whether or not the train engineer was distracted at the time of the crash. Three people were killed in the crash, and all of the crew members were injured severely enough to be hospitalized. Investigators have said that the train was speeding at 80mph and that the conductor was also in the cab with the engineer. Was the Amtrak accident another case of distracted driving?
Although there were two cameras in the engineer’s cab, both were seriously damaged in the accident. They were sent to a lab in Washington D.C. in an attempt to pull any photos which would give investigators a reason for the accident. It is hoped the information on these cameras could potentially identify the exact distraction involved.
Cell phone records of the engineer and the entire crew will be carefully scrutinized. Drug and alcohol test results for the crew and engineer will likely also be released at some point. While the engineer could certainly have been distracted, he could also have been fatigued, or impaired—the same issues that are often responsible for large truck accidents.
The train was running on a new part of the railroad track, and had only been operating on this new part for a couple of weeks—with no passengers. Some questions have been raised regarding the engineer’s level of training on the new part of the tracks. A couple of years ago, another Amtrak train crashed in Philadelphia, killing eight people, and like the most recent Amtrak crash in Washington, that train also took a curve at an excessive speed, subsequently derailing.
The term “situational awareness” was used in the Philadelphia crash, as in, the engineer lost situational awareness, and was not entirely cognizant of where he was on the track at the time of the crash. In the most recent Amtrak crash, the engineer might not have been 100 percent familiar with the route, or perhaps also suffered from a loss of situational awareness, misjudging where he was on the route, thus failing to slow down. In a 2008 commuter train crash in Los Angeles, which killed 25 people, it was later found the engineer was composing a text message, causing him to run a red light and collide with a freight train.
Further Reading: Motorcycle Accident Trauma Statistics
Those who persist in doing many other things besides driving—while driving—will likely see the distracted laws continue to increase in severity. But what about the increase in the number of train crashes over the past few years—is distracted driving to blame for these accidents as well?
Authorities focusing on the recent fatal Amtrak crash near Tacoma, Washington, say it is possible that the engineer of the train was distracted by the same type of distractions vehicle drivers experience every day when the Amtrak train took a dangerous curve at a shocking 50 mph over the posted speed limit.
The truth may or may not come to light regarding the cause of the accident. What is known is that there was no activation of the emergency brake before the train derailed, therefore investigators are fairly sure there must have been some type of distraction in the cab which kept the engineer from realizing the dangerously high rate of speed present as the train approached the deadly curve.
Contact Our Personal Injury Attorneys Today
Unfortunately, distracted driving claims far too many lives in accidents across the country. From car accidents to train accidents, if you have been injured by a distracted driver, we can help. At Hull & Zimmerman, P.C., our committed personal injury lawyers are dedicated to the belief that everyone deserves justice. Contact us at (303) 423-1770 or (866) 385-3505.
Our personal injury lawyers have extensive experience representing injured accident victims in Broomfield, Arvada, Superior, Lafayette, Louisville, Erie, Brighton, Commerce City, Northglenn, Westminster, Thornton, Longmont, and throughout Colorado.
At Hull & Zimmerman, P.C., we are honored to help accident victims in their time of need, and take our responsibility as personal injury lawyers incredibly seriously. We know how important it is for victims to secure the full and fair compensation they need following a serious accident, and that is why we take a hands-on, personalized approach to every case we handle.
awarded to a woman who was a victim of a car crash. The woman was driving the highway when the other driver approaching from the opposite direction lost control of his vehicle, crossed the center line and hit her head on. She suffered multiple broken bones, including her hip, pelvis, leg, and right arm. She missed several years of work as a result of her injuries. Read More
awarded to a woman who was the victim of a t-bone car crash. The client suffered multiple injuries. The most significant of which was a head injury. While she was ultimately able to return to work on a part-time basis, Plaintiff was never able to return to work on a full-time basis. Read More
settlement awarded to a lady who suffered a head injury. She slipped and fell in a slanted parking lot at her place of employment. Evidence demonstrated that the owner of the building had constructed a fence shading the parking lot such that ice was allowed to continuously accumulate during the winter months. Multiple people had fallen on the ice prior to the client’s fall. As a result of her injuries, Plaintiff was forced to take early retirement. Read More
awarded to a man whose vehicle was hit from behind by a semi. The injured party suffered back pain and rotator cuff tears in each shoulder and was forced to retire from his job doing road repair four years earlier. Read More
settlement (policy limits) awarded to a young man who lost his eye when another child shot an arrow into the air. Read More
settlement obtained for a man who was injured in a rear end automobile accident. He suffered a herniated disc in his low back which was not well resolved by surgery forcing him to leave his employment as an apartment maintenance manager. Read More
awarded to a gentleman in association with a workman’s compensation case. He initially sustained a head injury at work when attacked by a patient. Several years later, his condition worsened resulting in his inability to return to work in his usual job. Read More
settlement achieved in a legal malpractice case. The client initially suffered a herniated disc in her neck in association with an automobile accident. The attorney failed to file the lawsuit in a timely manner and the Plaintiff was initially denied her ability to achieve any monies from the original lawsuit. Read More
settlement awarded to a man who was a victim of an automobile accident. Plaintiff was a passenger who was rear-ended by another driver. Following the accident, he suffered a long term back injury. Read More
settlement awarded to a lady who aggravated a pre-existing back condition when she slipped and fell at the entrance to a casino. Read More
awarded to a woman who suffered a rotator cuff tear from an automobile accident. Read More
$1,250,000.00 –awarded to a woman who was a victim of a car crash. The woman was driving the highway when the other driver approaching from the opposite direction lost control of his vehicle, crossed the center line and hit her head on. She suffered multiple broken bones, including her hip, pelvis, leg, and right arm. She missed several years of work as a result of her injuries.
$1,200.000.00 –awarded to a woman who was the victim of a t-bone car crash. The client suffered multiple injuries. The most significant of which was a head injury. While she was ultimately able to return to work on a part-time basis, Plaintiff was never able to return to work on a full-time basis.
$450,000.00 –settlement awarded to a lady who suffered a head injury. She slipped and fell in a slanted parking lot at her place of employment. Evidence demonstrated that the owner of the building had constructed a fence shading the parking lot such that ice was allowed to continuously accumulate during the winter months. Multiple people had fallen on the ice prior to the client’s fall. As a result of her injuries, Plaintiff was forced to take early retirement.
$425,000 –awarded to a man whose vehicle was hit from behind by a semi. The injured party suffered back pain and rotator cuff tears in each shoulder and was forced to retire from his job doing road repair four years earlier.
$300,000.00 –settlement (policy limits) awarded to a young man who lost his eye when another child shot an arrow into the air.
$300,000.00 –settlement obtained for a man who was injured in a rear end automobile accident. He suffered a herniated disc in his low back which was not well resolved by surgery forcing him to leave his employment as an apartment maintenance manager.
$250,000.00 –awarded to a gentleman in association with a workman’s compensation case. He initially sustained a head injury at work when attacked by a patient. Several years later, his condition worsened resulting in his inability to return to work in his usual job.
$250,000.00 –settlement achieved in a legal malpractice case. The client initially suffered a herniated disc in her neck in association with an automobile accident. The attorney failed to file the lawsuit in a timely manner and the Plaintiff was initially denied her ability to achieve any monies from the original lawsuit.
$150,000.00 –settlement awarded to a man who was a victim of an automobile accident. Plaintiff was a passenger who was rear-ended by another driver. Following the accident, he suffered a long term back injury.
$125,000.00 –settlement awarded to a lady who aggravated a pre-existing back condition when she slipped and fell at the entrance to a casino.
$75,000.00 –awarded to a woman who suffered a rotator cuff tear from an automobile accident.
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5:48 pm
January 15th, 2018