Train Accidents

October 31, 2023

Navigating MBTA Accident Claims

Every day, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is used by more than 700,000 residents and commuters throughout the Greater Boston area. While public transportation offers convenience and efficiency, accidents involving the MBTA can and do occur.

In 2022, following an increase in MBTA-related deaths and serious injuries, the FTA assumed safety oversight of the MBTA. In a letter to T General Manager Steve Poftak, the agency said, “The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) is extremely concerned with the ongoing safety issues at the MBTA.” This letter was sent after a 39-year-old man was dragged to his death by a Red Line train car.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an MBTA accident, the ability to obtain compensation is dependent on knowing how to navigate the complex claims process. Following the steps below can help.

October 12, 2023

The Majority of MBTA Riders Report Feeling Unsafe

by Altman & Altman

Nearly three-quarters (70%) of current and former MBTA riders have felt unsafe at least once or twice because of the poor condition of the system’s infrastructure, according to a survey by MassINC Polling Group. While the ranking varied by mode of transportation, most MBTA services did not get a passing grade from riders.

The subway and trolley service received the agency’s lowest score, with less than one-third (28%) of poll respondents giving it a “good” or “excellent” rating. Only 35% rated bus service as “good to excellent” with the rest ranking it as “poor to fair.” The commuter rail earned the best marks, but still less than half (46%) of respondents said the service was at least “good.”

The poll was conducted in August, before a report released in September highlighted problems with MBTA track maintenance safety. An independent review by a consulting firm found that track inspection workers were often unqualified, inexperienced, or both. It also addressed other safety issues such as inadequate staffing, misunderstandings of job duties, and a lack of standardized procedures for track inspections.

May 18, 2023

Three Deaths in One Year on MBTA Commuter Rail Line in Abington

by Altman & Altman

Long concerned about the safety of the town’s railroad crossings, Alex Bezanson planned to prioritize the issue when he became the chairman of the Abington Board of Selectmen last year. Just two weeks later, a teenager walking home was tragically struck and killed by a train at the Birch Street crossing.

After that incident, the town hired a transportation consulting firm to study the safety of railroad crossings along the Abington corridor. The findings were included in an April 25, 2023 letter to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The very next day, another fatal train incident occurred at the same intersection.

Recent Deadly Train Accidents in Abington

January 20, 2023

Investigators Fault Driver, Missing Safety Feature in Green Line Crash

by Altman & Altman

In determining the cause of a 2021 Green Line crash that injured 27 people, federal investigators faulted a speeding train operator—as well as a missing safety feature they say would have prevented the accident. Two and a half years after the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a report concluding that the driver’s “loss of situational awareness” and “full-power” acceleration caused him to collide with another train.

The investigation also revealed that the accident didn’t have to happen. According to the report, the current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operations and control system lacks a key engineering feature that would have prevented such a crash. The recommended technology can both detect collision threats and prevent trolleys from violating speed policies. According to the Boston Globe, the NTSB first recommended the crash-avoidance system more than 14 years ago, but it has not yet been installed.

Green Line Train Accident

September 23, 2022

MBTA Safety Incidents Prompt Federal Investigation

by Altman & Altman

After a series of train derailments, fires, injury collisions, and fatal accidents, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has come under fire for what federal regulators called its “lax safety culture.” A “pattern of safety incidents” prompted the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to conduct a months-long investigation into Boston’s rail transportation system. The review revealed overworked employees, issues with staffing, a lack of safety protocols, and a long backlog of maintenance cases. On August 31, the FTA ordered the MBTA to address 53 problem areas.

Recent MBTA Accidents

In the past year alone, multiple accidents on and around the T have resulted in injuries and deaths. The transit system has decayed over the course of decades, according to a report by WBUR highlighting the following high-profile MBTA accidents:

October 10, 2018

Distracted Driving Becomes Number One Danger on American Roadways

by Altman & Altman

We all know the dangers of texting and driving, yet more and more American drivers are failing to take them seriously. In fact, a recent AAA study revealed that distracted driving is now the number one danger on American roadways, followed by aggressive driving, and drunk/drugged driving. Many experts blame it on our “productivity culture,” saying the pressure to respond to texts, emails and calls right now is making us more distracted, and less safe.

To reduce this rapidly-growing threat to public safety, we need more than just billboards and ad campaigns. Drivers must understand what happens—to their brains—when they drive while distracted. Taking your eyes off the road to glance at a text impacts more than just your line of vision. Reading that text is a visual distraction, yes, but it can also be a cognitive distraction. A Boston car accident lawyer can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured due to another’s negligence.

Categories of Distraction

There are three main types of distraction: manual, visual, and cognitive. Manual and visual are fairly straightforward—you take your hands off the wheel to adjust the stereo, or you take your eyes off the road to read a text. But there’s a third kind of distraction, and this one gets a bit more complicated. When a driver takes his/her attention off the task at hand—driving—he/she may experience inattention blindness, which is the inability to perceive critical driving cues due to cognitive distraction (a.k.a. “zoning out”).

Although inattention blindness can occur at any time, it’s more common following a manual or visual distraction. As a result, even after you’ve read that text and returned your eyes to the road, your mind may be too distracted to notice that the car ahead of you is braking, or that an animal is about to run into the road.

What About Fatigue?

And zoning out doesn’t only occur when a driver is texting or taking his/her hands off the wheel. Fatigue is another leading cause of distraction because it also contributes to inattention blindness. Combined with other distractions, such as reading a text or taking a sip of coffee to stay awake, fatigued driving is particularly dangerous. A MA car accident attorney can help you recover damages if you’ve been injured due to another’s negligence.

Distracted Driving Statistics

The consequences of distracted driving are often devastating. In 2016, 3,450 people were killed and 391,000 were injured in distracted driving-related motor vehicle accidents. Considering that during the day, more than 480,000 people are estimated to be using cell phones while behind the wheel, these statistics aren’t particularly surprising.

And distracted driving doesn’t only involve cell phones. Anything that takes the driver’s eyes, hands, or mind off the task of driving is considered to be a distraction. This includes everything from adjusting the stereo or navigation system, to eating, drinking, or applying make-up. Continue reading

March 6, 2018

Is the Safety Culture at Amtrak Failing Miserably?

by Altman & Altman

About 1,000 people are killed in train-related accidents each year and thousands more suffer non-fatal injuries. Despite these shocking statistics, train travel is generally quite safe. But concerns over recent – and tragic – accidents involving Amtrak have authorities questioning the railroad company’s safety culture.

In 2016, an Amtrak passenger train crashed into a backhoe on the track in Chester, PA. The operator claims he tried to stop when he noticed workers on the track, but failed to do so in time. Following the accident, toxicology reports showed that each of the three employees involved in the collision tested positive for drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and opioids.

Without Change, Another Accident is Inevitable

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the accident occurred due to Amtrak’s failure to maintain a “clear, consistent and accepted vision for safety.” The NTSB went on to warn that another accident is inevitable if Amtrak does not make some dramatic changes, and soon.

An NTSB investigation into Amtrak’s 2016 derailment revealed the following problems as the main causes of the crash:

The train was permitted to travel on an unprotected track – while employees were working on the track – at maximum speed.
The train lacked shunting devices (a feature that indicates if and where workers are present on the railroad track).
Amtrak’s safety policies and management are inconsistent.
The presence of drugs in three of the workers’ systems further indicated the railroad company’s “weak safety culture.”

Sadly, the collision above is far from the only fatal crash in Amtrak’s recent history. In 2015, more than 200 people were injured and eight were killed when a train derailed in Philadelphia. And only a few weeks ago, two employees were killed and more than 100 people were injured in South Carolina when a passenger train collided with a parked freight train. Officials say that Amtrak’s safety culture was again to blame in the South Carolina crash. A Boston injury attorney can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured in a train-related accident.

Common Carrier Law

Under common carrier law, train operators, railroad workers and train companies are held to a higher standard because they are responsible for the safety of hundreds – even thousands – of people each day. In addition to implementing an effective drug-testing program, Amtrak and other common carriers (such as MBTA) should ensure that employees receive adequate training and that vehicles and equipment are properly maintained and in good, working order at all times.

Amtrak has failed to do its part to protect passengers and limit any harm that can come to them while using its transportation services. When a company like Amtrak neglects to adhere to safety standards and regulations – and injuries result – it should be held accountable for its actions. That being said, determining liability can be an overwhelmingly-complex process. In such a situation, it is essential to consult with an attorney who has extensive experience in cases involving common carriers.

The NTSB recommends that Amtrak overhauls its safety culture by implementing professional risk assessments and ensuring that workers are compliant with safety protocol. If Amtrak does not improve its safety culture, more deadly accidents are inevitable. A MA personal injury lawyer can help you recover damages if you have been injured due to another’s negligence. Continue reading

December 27, 2017

Amtrak Train in Washington State Derails, Causing Fatalities, Raising Many Safety Questions

by Altman & Altman

Last week, three people were killed and dozens more were injured when Amtrak’s 501 Cascades high-speed locomotive derailed on its inaugural journey between Seattle and Portland. Excessive speed was a factor. More disturbing, however, was the fact that the automatic braking system (ABS) was installed on the tracks and train, but was not functioning. Such a system would have likely prevented this deadly accident from occurring.

Since 1969, train safety advocates have been pushing for the installation of ABS. According to an Associated Press analysis, since that year, more than 6,700 have been injured and 298 have been killed in accidents involving train derailments. Congress mandated the implementation of “positive train control” (PTC) on all trains by 2015. PTC is a communications system for passenger trains that includes ABS. Despite this mandate, most passenger trains in the United States are not equipped with PTC features. A Boston train accident attorney can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured in a train derailment-related accident.

Train was Clocked at Nearly Three Times the Posted Speed Limit

Just before the accident, the train was estimated to be traveling at over 80 mph, nearly three times the legal limit. Occurring to investigators, the train cars were tilting as they rounded the curve with a 30 mph speed limit, and it appeared that the engineer was applying the brakes.

Passengers who were being interviewed shortly after the accident were stunned. Emma Schafer, who was traveling to Portland for the holidays, was napping when her train car fell onto the highway below.

“Have you ever been on a 3D simulator where it shakes you around a pod? It was like that,” said Schafer.

“It felt like the end of the world, like we’d stepped out of a nuclear bunker amid the wreckage,” she continued. “It’s hitting me in waves. I’m suppressing some of it. Tonight is probably going to be rough.”

Amtrak said there were seven crew members and 77 passengers on board at the time of the accident. More than a dozen people suffered serious injuries, some of whom required surgery, and more than 100 people were rushed to the hospital.

Train Accidents are Relatively Common

More than 3,000 train accidents occur in the United States annually. Although not all of these accidents result in injury or death, most involve some level of property damage. The most common railroad accidents involve collisions with other trains or passenger vehicles, derailment, mechanical failure, poorly-maintained tracks, driver fatigue, and driver inexperience. Continue reading

April 25, 2017

$42 Million Award in Traumatic Birth Injury Case

by Altman & Altman

Last week, the family of a child who was severely injured at birth was awarded a $42 million verdict for future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost earning capacity, among other damages. A Pennsylvania judge awarded the multi-million dollar verdict due to the extent of the child’s injuries and the likelihood that he will require life-long care.

The child, who is now five years old, was injured during the delivery process when the doctor allegedly used forceps prematurely to pull the infant from the birth canal. According to the lawsuit, the pressure from the forceps caused internal bleeding, which resulted in permanent injuries, including cognitive problems, physical impairments, and an inability to express himself. As a result, he has suffered multiple brain and spine surgeries, and will require many more in the future. In fact, doctors do not expect that the child will ever read or write, and he may spend the rest of his life in an electric wheelchair.

The birth of a baby is supposed to be a joyous occasion, when a doctor’s negligence or medical malpractice results in painful or debilitating injuries to mother or child, this special day can forever be marred by trauma, sadness, and anger. In some cases, traumatic birth injuries lead to a lifetime of medical problems, and even death. Malpractice claims can be brought against doctors, other medical personnel, and hospitals. However, these types of claims are highly complicated and require the help of a skilled MA birth injury lawyer.

Types of Traumatic Birth Injuries

Any kind of birth-related injury can be classified as a traumatic birth injury, but some of the most common serious birth injuries include:

Broken bones and bruising: In many cases, these injuries will heal over a period of time, without the need for medical intervention. Broken bones and bruises are often caused by the use of forceps, vacuums, or natural physical stresses of the birth process. When an infant is tugged with too much force or medical personnel improperly use birth-assisting tools, these injuries can become more severe.

Bell’s Palsy: This injury is characterized by facial paralysis, and occurs when the infant’s facial nerves are damaged during the birth process. The damage is often caused by extreme pressure on the infant’s face, either from natural causes or from improper use of forceps during delivery. In most cases, Bell’s Palsy improves without treatment. A Boston injury lawyer can help you obtain the compensation you deserve if you were harmed due to medical negligence.

Brachial Plexus injury: The brachial plexus is a bundle of nerves that connects the spine to the arms and hands. When the brachial plexus is injured during the birth process, the baby may temporarily lose the ability to move the arms. In most cases, this injury will heal over time, but brachial plexus injuries can be permanent if the nerves are actually torn. These injuries are most common in difficult births, especially when a doctor pulls too hard to extract an infant whose shoulder is stuck in the birth canal.

Anoxia: A form of oxygen deprivation, anoxia can cause serious medical complications in a newborn. If the placenta separates prematurely or the umbilical cord is wrapped around the infant’s neck, oxygen flow to the brain may be reduced to dangerous levels. If a baby is deprived of oxygen for too long, serious brain damage can result. In some cases, this oxygen deprivation causes a medical disorder called cerebral palsy (CP). Children with CP have difficulty controlling body movements and developing / maintaining muscle tone. CP is a serious, life-long and life-altering condition. In some situations, oxygen deprivation leads to death.

October 13, 2016

MBTA Bus and Train Accidents – What are Your Rights?

by Altman & Altman

Operating within a metropolitan area unparalleled by its surroundings, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is responsible for transporting millions of people with its trains, buses and ferries every day. Anyone who has ever spent serious time in Boston or its surrounding area has an almost intimate knowledge of “The T.” As is often the case, we usually take this massively complex operation for granted as we put in our earbuds and zone out during a morning or afternoon commute. However, the MBTA deals with thousands of transport vehicles carrying, as was reported in 2008, 1.3 million riders per day. It is probable that the number of riders has only risen in recent years. As a result of this massive and regular migration of people, accidents will happen. What matters most, however, is distinguishing the difference between an honest accident that occurs when dealing with such a delicate and widespread entity such as the MBTA, and an accident that occurs as the direct result of the organization’s negligence.

When would the MBTA be at fault?

If you’re riding the green line, headed into the downtown for another day of whatever job you have, or you’re going towards Brighton or Brookline at the end of a long day, and the conductor blows by a stop light and collides with another train – which happened in May of 2009 – then the MBTA and the operator are directly liable for any pain, suffering or medical expenses that result from that negligence. If a subway station is left in a condition that is hazardous to its patrons, the MBTA is liable. For example, if stairs are left slippery during the winter due to ice, or if a spill is left near the tracks, and somebody slips and falls, the MBTA is liable.

In another case, a green line operator fell asleep while driving a train in 2008 and collided with another train. It was revealed that the operator has sleep apnea, which is definitely a condition that should be on the watch list for the MBTA while hiring people to operate massive machines at various hours of the day and night. In other cases, the MBTA technology can fail. Mostly everybody who has spent time commuting in the Boston area has heard stories of subway and commuter rail trains literally catching on fire. In some cases, the malfunctioning trains have filled the cabins with smoke, causing riders great discomfort and potential harm. Continue reading