Free Consultation (757) 455-0077 Available to talk 24/7
Your Injury, Our Fight!
Playing on the railroad tracks in Newport News proved devastating for an 11-year-old boy from Hampton whose leg was severed by a CSX train.
The child was reported to be in surgery after his leg was severed while playing on railroad tracks.
Shortly before 2 p.m., on October 14, 2012, police and medics responded to Bellwood Road, after calls of a juvenile who had been run over by a train, Newport News police spokeswoman Holly McPherson said in a news release. The lower part of one of the boy’s legs had been severed off.
Boy’s leg severed by train
He was taken to a local hospital, then airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the release said. He was in surgery shortly before 5:30 p.m.
McPherson said witnesses saw several juveniles playing on the tracks when a train came through. The boy got his leg caught under the moving train. Investigators from CSX were on the scene by the evening of October 14.
As experienced Newport News railroad injury attorneys, our thoughts are with this child and his family. Although trespassers aren’t usually able to bring premises liability lawsuits for injuries sustained in places where they should not have been, this is not always the case, in particular when a child is injured.
If a railroad is not well secured or if railroad authorities are aware children play on the tracks but fail to take action, there could be grounds to bring a personal injury lawsuit.
In a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1016 the court looked at a case in which a child was injured on an unguarded, unlocked railroad turntable. The court said the railroad’s knowledge that children were playing on the turntable made it liable even though the children were trespassing.
In the Newport News case, CSX clearly had a duty to make sure children could not easily get onto its tracks.
Sadly CSX has an unenviable record of accidents on its tracks of which some have led to lawsuits against the railroad.
If you or a child has been seriously hurt in a railroad accident you should contact an experienced Newport News railroad accident injury lawyer.
The Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA personal injury law firm, Cooper Hurley, handles automobile, truck, and motorcycle injuries as well as wrongful death, railroad injury cases and medical malpractice. John Cooper and Jim Hurley have over 40 years of combined experience in handling auto injury accident claims. Attorney John Cooper has been named to Virginia “Super Lawyers” since 2010. Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA, and always put the best interests of our clients first. The firm is recognized by other lawyers as “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, a national attorney rating service, for our top level of legal skill and highest ethical standards. Our motto is: “Your Injury. Our fight.” If you need help or advice about a serious injury, please call us at (757) 455 -0077 or contact us through this website.