Railroad Accident Lawsuit

Railroad Accident Lawsuit Facts

If you or a loved one was injured in a or suffered property loss because of a railroad accident, or if  your loved one was killed in a railroad accident, an experienced attorney will help you sort through the legal issues involved. If a lawsuit results, Lawsuit Hotline can help bridge the financial gap between the filing and settlement of a claim.

Railroad accidents carry the potential for cargo loss and personal injury, depending on the type of railroad car involved. A derailed passenger car may injure or kill multiple riders. A poorly maintained passenger car may present a slip-and-fall hazard. Rail crossing accidents bring dangers to those not on-board a train.

A rail car can carry three times the cargo of a truck. This means that we are surrounded by products that spend at least part of their transportation life on rails. Unfortunately, the economy of shipping in bulk also compounds the potential for loss in an accident. Even a delay in shipping can cost business a substantial amount of money, and a railroad doesn’t have the same “detour” possibilities as a highway. It takes longer to get things moving again after an accident.

Experience

Zoila Tellez died while running away from a burning train derailment at a Rockford, IL, crossing. The 41-year-old woman made it 20 feet away from her car before she died. Of the 114 car total, the cargo train was carrying 18 cars filled with highly-flammable ethanol fuel, and derailed. The June 2009 crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, but some consider it a result of heavy rain and washouts.

In addition to the one fatality, several other passengers of Tellez’s car were burned by flying debris. Six-hundred homes in the area were also evacuated due to the air quality immediately surrounding the ethanol fires.

Action

Many people that are involved in railroad accident lawsuits eventually face financial hardships. Many can’t work and the legal process is long and drawn out. Some cases take many years to resolve. Lawsuit Hotline specializes in the funding of settled and pre-settled railroad accident lawsuits. During the funding process, Lawsuit Hotline requests some of the case documentation, underwriting evaluates the lawsuit to determine whether funding can be extended, and if approved, a contract is issued for the injured party and his/her attorney to sign. The injured party’s attorney then repays the lien when the case is resolved. All funding is non recourse, which means that if for any reason, there is no recovery on the case, then no money is owed back.