A white cross near a railroad crossing is a silent reminder that a victim of a railroad accident lost their life. Regardless of who was at fault, the driver for not obeying traffic signals or the railroad for an unsafe or poorly maintained crossing, the railroad engineer and train crew often pay the price.
In the aftermath of a train accident many news reports understandably focus on the civilian victims. But a major train accident such as a derailment can send trains careening into ditches or shrapnel ripping through a locomotive’s windshield. Aside from the serious physical injuries railroad workers may suffer during a railroad accident, emotional injuries can be just as devastating. One railroad engineer recounts an accident, ‘I once ran into a minivan, we were coming down the tracks and there was nothing I could do. I had the brakes on full emergency. I’m blowing the horn and blowing the horn, and I can see this minivan. We’re getting closer and closer. We got so close I could see the little kids’ faces against the windows of the cars. There’s nothing I could do. We plowed right into them.’ A report on the effects of railroad accidents stated that 12.1 percent of railroad workers experienced PTSD. Train crews involved in incidents were also more likely to report physical health difficulties.
To make matters worse up until the 1970s or the 80s, many companies expected railroad workers to clean up the mess after a collision and keep working, regardless of any nerves or psychological trauma. “Initially when I was involved in a fatality, I couldn’t believe there was no assistance,” says John Tolman, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. In 2008, Congress passed the Railway Safety Improvement Act which is a step in the right direction to helping railroad workers. The law included a provision that is now observed by railroads that requires train companies to provide adequate time off and counseling services to anyone involved in a “critical incident.” However it also pushed for positive train control to curtail operator error, that has yet to be implemented by the major railroads.
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Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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