As a Seattle personal injury attorney, I know that although trains are a statistically safe way to travel, from time to time people are seriously injured; accidents are not unheard of.  A story about two Amtrak trains that collided Wednesday evening in Oakland, CA, causing injury to 17 people appears at KOMOnews.com.  One of the trains, traveling about 15 miles per hour, ran into the other train, which was stopped at a station to unload passengers.  It is believed that the cause of the crash was the incoming train running through a red signal.  There are “traffic signals” placed along railroad tracks that drivers must abide by, letting them know if they must stop, or when it is safe to proceed.  Just like a car, a train driver is required to stop at a red signal.

Nearly all fatalities involving train accidents involve people being hit by trains either at railroad crossings or while trespassing on the railroad track, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, which keeps detailed statistics of train accidents, including injuries and fatalities. .  People who are actually aboard a train are generally very safe, but as this incident reminds us, every rule has its exception.  The most alarming thing about this incident is the fact that, although no one was killed, they certainly could have been and this incident was completely avoidable.  And of course, while this happened down in California, there is no reason why this couldn’t have happened at one of our local Amtrak stations, like the one in Everett.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a train crash, contact me at Premier Law Group as soon as possible.  As an Everett train accident attorney, I know how to make sure that your health and your legal rights are protected after what is certainly a slightly unusual accident.  The fact that not many people are injured in train accidents means that if you have been, you need an aggressive attorney like me who will work hard to protect you.  For more information and a FREE CONSULTATION, call me at (206)285-1743.

Tags: 17 hurt in amtrak train crash, Amtrak train crash Oakland CA, Everett train accident attorney, Oakland train collision, Seattle train crash attorney, Washington state train collision attorney, Washington train accident lawyer

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