Norfolk Driver is Injured in Crash with Train on Pritchard Street

Railroads are dangerous places as are railroad crossings. I was alarmed to read about an accident today in Norfolk in which a train hit a car.

Police in Norfolk and Fire Rescue responded to the accident on the tracks near the 1500 block of Pritchard Street, just south of Miller Store Road, Thursday around 8:45 a.m.

Police said a four-door Cadillac was going south on Pritchard Street and the driver was trying to cross the railroad tracks, when a Bay Coast Railroad Train, that was traveling eastbound, hit the car.

The man driving the Cadillac was treated on the scene for injuries that were described as non-life threatening. Nobody else was reported to be injured. WVEC.com reported the driver is a Norfolk Sheriff’s Office recruit and he was in his personal vehicle.

As an experienced Norfolk railroad injury lawyer, I have dealt with a string of accidents in which trains came into contact with vehicles. They are often serious and it appears the driver had a lucky escape in this case. Often railroad crossing accidents can be tragic such as the 2011 crash in Nevada which left six dead and many injured. The trucking company that employed the at-fault trucker, is being sued over that accident.

When a driver is hurt or killed on a railroad crossing, the railroad itself may be held liable. Virginia has numerous railroad crossings and many of these grade crossings lack the necessary safety features to alert people of the dangers posed by an oncoming train.

Although drivers can he held responsible for crashes such as the trucker who caused the Amtrak wreck in Nevada, railroads can also be held liable for crashes on crossings in a number of circumstances, namely:

• Malfunctioning equipment (e.g. lights and gates on grade crossings)
• Too much foliage that blocks the view of the tracks to drivers.
• Poor track maintenance
• The conductor’s failure to blow a horn or otherwise warn of an approaching train.

In cases where it can be proven that the railroad company failed to do everything within its powers to avoid a railroad accident, you can seek compensation for all of the financial, physical, and emotional losses you suffered as a result of your injury.

These cases are not always easy of straightforward. However, the big railroads have a poor record when it comes to the maintenance of grade crossings. If you have been injured on a railroad crossing accident or if you have lost a loved one, call me at 757.455.007 or see CooperHurley.com.