Norfolk Southern is To Receive Bill of $22,000 for a Derailment in Jacksonville, Florida

The railroad industry has a fairly poor record in terms of derailments. When trains leave the tracks railroad workers or passengers can suffer injuries. Fortunately the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train under the Acosta Bridge in downtown Jacksonville, did not result in injuries.

Jacksonville.com reported on how the city of Jacksonville is seeking reimbursement of $22,000 for manpower and equipment used to respond to the railroad accident, according to Tom Francis, spokesman for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

It followed an accident in which a tanker carrying 28,000 gallons of ethanol fell over during the six-car derailment, leaking some of the highly flammable chemical and causing an evacuation of the Times-Union production facility. There were no injuries in this accident.

Under Florida state law companies are required to pay for the emergency response and cleanup costs related to the release of hazardous materials they are transporting.

It’s still unclear what caused this the derailment. The Federal Rail Administration is still investigating the accident, said FRA spokesman Warren Flatau.

Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Susan Terpay was quoted as saying the giant railroad company will pay for the clean-up costs when it receives a bill from the city. She said Norfolk Southern hasn’t determined a cause of the accident.

The sum of money is considerably less that Norfolk Southern would end up paying to the families of injured workers under the FELA law, had the derailment proved to be more serious.

Emergency crews drained ethanol from the tanks, thus minimizing the danger of an explosion.

Derailments involving tankers can be hazardous situations. Recently I reported on new safety standards for the DOT-111 tanker car which has been linked to numerous explosions.

Recently, I wrote about the chlorine leak that occurred during the derailment of a tanker train in Graniteville, South Carolina in 2005; a disaster that left nine people dead and others sick. I represented some of the families in legal actions against the railroad. If you are a railroad worker or a resident living near the line, who has been made ill by the actions of a railroad, call an experienced railroad injury lawyer at Cooper Hurley at 757.455.0077. See Cooperhurley.com.