The tragic and extremely deadly train accident in Santiago de Compostela in Spain last week brings up some disturbing questions for Americans. While the number of train accidents worldwide indicates that their level of safety is, on the whole, better than other forms of travel, the Spanish incident indicates that personal fallibility plays an enormous role.
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Moreover, with the increasing difficulty of air travel after 9/11 and the continued high price of gasoline, train travel is likely to remain steadily on the increase here in the U.S. That means that, from the point of view of a
vehicle accident lawyer, more lawsuits will be on the horizon in coming years. From the point of the rest of us, however, there's certainly no reason at all to avoid train travel, though we should all be mindful of the risks from a public policy of view. While the Spanish accident is one of the worst in memory anywhere, we've seen our share of horrific light rail and other accidents right here in California.
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Moreover, with the increasing difficulty of air travel after 9/11 and the continued high price of gasoline, train travel is likely to remain steadily on the increase here in the U.S. That means that, from the point of view of a
vehicle accident lawyer, more lawsuits will be on the horizon in coming years. From the point of the rest of us, however, there's certainly no reason at all to avoid train travel, though we should all be mindful of the risks from a public policy of view. While the Spanish accident is one of the worst in memory anywhere, we've seen our share of horrific light rail and other accidents right here in California.
It might technically be considered a crime rather than an accident, but the 2005 incident in which a deranged individual left his vehicle on Metrolink trains, causing 11 deaths and some 180 injuries is a particularly horrific incident that is worth remembering. While the owner of the vehicle was obviously primarily to blame, a capable personal injury lawyer or other observer might wonder whether enough precautions were taken against such an incident at the time.
The fact that the much more recent Spanish incident may well have been largely caused by a distracted or otherwise careless driver is another reminder that multiple parties may be liable for injuries resulting from train accidents. Of course, the more everyone involved in the operation of trains, including passengers, remains mindful of the risks, the fewer of these tragic accidents we'll all have to deal with.
The fact that the much more recent Spanish incident may well have been largely caused by a distracted or otherwise careless driver is another reminder that multiple parties may be liable for injuries resulting from train accidents. Of course, the more everyone involved in the operation of trains, including passengers, remains mindful of the risks, the fewer of these tragic accidents we'll all have to deal with.
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