train hit my car under OH state law can i pursue a personal injury lawsuit agains the train company

DISCLAIMER- THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE AND DOES NOT ESTABLISH AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. CONSULT QUALIFIED LEGAL COUNSEL IN YOUR CITY OR STATE FOR IMMEDIATE LEGAL ADVICE.

We practice law only in California but I do want to share the following "train liability" overview with you. This information should give you several different ideas about how to get the information you are looking for. Bottom line, consult a local attorney to subpoena the documents you are interested in obtaining.

Every hundred (100) minutes, someone in America dies as a result of being struck by a train. The occupant of a motor vehicle that collides with a train, is forty (40) times more likely to die, than if they had collided with another motor vehicle.

Out of the more than 300,000 rail grade crossings in the United States, more than 80% of all public railroad crossings don’t have lights and gates; one third of these crossings have no active warning device of any kind. Motorists are made unknowingly susceptible by the liability of an approaching train. Warning time is often minimal to nonexistent.

More than half of all railroad mishaps occur at these unprotected crossings. For those lucky enough to survive, the injuries sustained are typically life threatening, requiring extensive surgical intervention, many necessitating amputation. Thus the type of injury which results from a motor vehicle colliding with a train or a child playing on or around a railroad track only emphasizes the need for limited access to railway areas and increased warning devices.

Trains cannot stop in time to prevent a collision from occurring. For while an automobile traveling fifty (50) miles per hour requires approximately fifty (50) feet to come to a stop, it takes a train over a mile and a half to stop traveling from the same rate of speed.

While grade crossing warning signals have become more high-tech and rail traffic has steadily increased, the railroads responsible for maintenance have continuously reduced their workforce, leaving the public at increased risk.

Liability can be established against the railroad by proving vegetation was allowed to grow too high in the right of way, blocking the view of both the engineer and the driver of the vehicle. Often, engineers don’t blow the required whistle sequence because the whistle is so deafeningly loud in the cab of the train.

The train’s "black box" can be retrieved which will show use of the whistle and speed of the train prior to impact. Communications between the train crew and dispatchers are recorded. These recordings, through contentious discovery, can be key in establishing liability against the railroad.

The above information is provided for discussion purposes only. Jackson & Wilson, Inc. and its attorneys believe in helping people and answering their questions and providing information and solutions. To encourage and facilitate this practice, it is understood and agreed by the recipient that by opening, reading and viewing this information, no attorney-client relationship has been discussed, agreed to or otherwise established. In legal matters, time is of the essence. As such, you should contact an experienced lawyer right away to protect your legal rights!

Best Regards,

Jon Mitchell "Mitch" Jackson
Jackson & Wilson, Inc.
An "AV" rated firm listed in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
www.JacksonWilson.com

If you are able to write this post, consider yourself to be lucky to be alive. Most people hit by trains either do not survive or are severely brain injured. I do not know the extent of your injuries but can answer your question. Trains do have printouts which sometimes record the sounding of the horn (depending on the manufacturer of the recorder and whether the recorder is set to record the horn). The claim agent usually gets a copy of this download withing a week or so of the collision. Some locomotives now also have cameras installed in the cab of the locomotive which will record, on video, the horn sounding and the view on approach to the accident. However, most railroad claims agents are trained to not disclose information unless forced to by lawsuit. Typically, this involves filing suit and sending "Requests For Production of Documents." Ohio has laws on sounding the horn as locomotives approach railroad crossings. Further, Ohio has laws on clearing obstructive vegetation on the railroad right-of-way (property owned by the railroad). The right-of-way varies from intersection to intersection but can often be found by visiting the county engineer's office. Depending on the railroad, they also have company policies in effect for clearing vegetation along "right-of-way" at the intersection. You should contact an injury attorney to further discuss all facts and circumstances of your accident.