Personal Injury Law

Man Sues Union Pacific for Injuries from 2004 Train Derailment

A man who was injured by chlorine gas released in one of seven derailments of Union Pacific trains in Bexar County, Texas, near San Antonio in 2004 is suing Union Pacific for as-yet-undisclosed damages. We can only hope that the damages will be sufficient to make Union Pacific sit up and take notice, hopefully even put its house in order in terms of the safety of the people who live near the rail lines on which it operates. Apparently, this is a case where no one seems to be willing or able to regulate the industry to improve safety.

In 2005, federal regulators began an 18-month study of railroad traffic in the county, and the regulators have passed on more fines to Union Pacific than to any other railroad. However, the work by the Federal Railroad Administration, a branch of the National Transportation Safety Board, was unsuccessful, as evidenced by the 58 railroad accidents in Bexar County in 2006, including the derailment of 17 cars in a populous San Antonio neighborhood on October 17, 2006, which sparked a personal appeal from the city to their Senator.

Full post as published by The Personal Injury Lawyer Directory on January 30, 2008 (boomark / email).