It is estimated that a derailing or a collision occurs somewhere in America every 90 minutes. Of course not all of these accidents result in injury but many do. The risk of injury is always highest for those working in the railroad industry. Over the past three years 17,000 railroad employees have been injured or killed.

One of the main dangers with train derailments or collisions are that freight trains are often used to transport explosive or otherwise dangerous chemicals. Workers are often injured when they are exposed to hazardous chemicals after a spill. Sometimes the results are even more dramatic.

In June 2009 a freight train in Illinois derailed during a heavy downpour. 14 tanks of ethanol exploded killing one person who was at the crossing and severely injuring several others. In the same month two passenger trains collided in Washington killing 9 people and injuring another 70. The collision was caused by a computer malfunction while the trains were running in fully automated mode.

Besides adverse weather conditions and computer malfunctions there are several other main causes involved in railroad accidents.

• Driver negligence
• Poorly marked crossings
• Motorists blocking tracks or not seeing crossings
• Tracks not being adequately maintained
• Bad management of train traffic
• Malfunctions of either trains or lights and crossings
• Motorists failing to see trains in low light conditions and running into them
• People leaving objects on the tracks which fly off and injure bystanders
• Suicide attempts
• Intoxicated people wandering onto tracks

Related Legal Resource: The Jodat Law Group. Serving accident victims in Bradenton, FL.