FLORIDA’S DEADLY RAILROAD CROSSINGS

On Behalf of | Jun 14, 2019 | Car Accidents

Over the past two decades, Kaire &
Heffernan has helped hundreds of Florida citizens injured as pedestrians,
bicyclists, motor vehicle drivers and passengers.  Now there is another risk for Floridians as
people are being killed at Florida railroad crossings almost weekly.

In the U.S., a train hits a person or vehicle
every three (3) hours, according to a Forbes report.  The study revealed more than 10,700 highway
related railroad accidents in one year. 
One in four resulted in personal injuries and 1 in 10 in a fatality. 

Since the Brightline began running in South
Florida in 2017, more than a dozen pedestrians have been killed.  Injury Claim Coach, a company which provides
advice on personal injuries, conducted a Railroad Crossing Study in which they
analyzed data from the Federal Railroad Administration from 2014 to 2018.  Florida which had 462 total reported Railroad
related accidents in that four (4) year span is the 6th highest
among the states for railroad related accidents.  Texas was the most dangerous state followed
by California and Illinois. 

Of the 462 railroad accidents in Florida 16%
resulted in fatalities and 25% resulted in injury.  Florida ranks no. 11 for states with train
accidents causing death and 27th in states, for accidents causing
injuries.  65% of the fatal accidents involved
trains and pedestrians and motorcycles accounted for 29%.  There were 76 train fatalities along the East
coast of Florida between Miami and Jacksonville during a three year
period.  According to the Injury Claim Coach
analysis “In Florida, many train related deaths are linked to urban low income
areas where pedestrians live near railroads and may feel less inclined to heed
safety precautions.

Suicides and attempted suicides only account
for 2% of the reported accidents.  As
high speed train services such as the Virgin/Brightline between Miami and West
Palm bring high speed trains through heavily congested areas such as Downtown,
measures must be taken to make these crossings safer or the numbers of fatalities
and injuries will continue to rise. 

There are many federal railway regulations and
standards which address the appropriate safety measures required to be in place
at railroad crossings.  To hold the
railways responsible for causing injury or death, it is imperative to retain a
law firm which is well versed in these requirements, like Kaire &
Heffernan, LLC.

For over 20 years, David R. Heffernan, has been an advocate for those injured due to negligence including medical malpracticewrongful deathpersonal injuryautomobile and trucking accidentspharmaceutical and products liability and premises liability. He has obtained numerous seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients and is dedicated to helping the injured people of Miami receive compensation for their injuries.