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Few railroad disasters in recent years have been as harrowing as the one that hit the town of Graniteville in South Carolina on January 6, 2005.
The town marked the ninth anniversary of the disaster earlier this month. Last year a study found residents affected by a 2005 train wreck and chlorine spill continue to suffer from anxiety and depression but benefit from more frequent attention to medical care. I represented some of those families and understand what they are going through.
An article in the Augusta Chronicle found some people in the town continue to battle respiratory ailments, while the number of mental illnesses have increased in the wake of the accident.
The Graniteville accident claimed nine lives. The disaster unfolded when a 42 car Norfolk Southern freight train crashed into a parked train on a side track in the small town. Fourteen cars on the moving train derailed, including three chlorine tank cars, one of which leaked a cloud of the deadly green gas.
Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton later said eight of the deaths resulted from inhalation of chlorine gas from the leaking tank car. The only death not attributable to chlorine was that of the engineer of the moving train, who died in the crash.
Six textile mill workers, along with the train engineer; a truck driver and a man who was found in his Main Street home, died of chlorine inhalation.
In this video I highlight how the big railroad companies continue to contaminate. In the past I have written about potentially fatal flaws in tankers used by the railroad companies, a factor that may have contributed to the tragedy in Quebec in 2013 that killed 47 people.
Injured railroad workers are often entitled to compensation under the Federal Employers Liability Act. If you live near a railroad and your health has been harmed, you may also be able to sue the railroad. Call our experienced Virginia railroad injury lawyers today at 757.455.0077 for a free consultation.