When injured in any type of metro incident, there is a very good possibility the fault is of someone else. If this is the case, it is really important to file an injury claim so you can receive compensation for your losses. But, this is not as easy as you might think. Without the help of a Metro accident attorney near Washington DC, even if the claim would be successful, it is a certainty you would receive less than you could. Basically, having an attorney in your corner gives you more money. This is just one of the things few people know, including what is presented below.
The Most Common Metro Accidents
Metro injuries can appear due to several possible reasons. Some of the most common metro accidents you should be aware of are:
- Derailments – They happen whenever the trains hop off their tracks. A derailment can appear due to the error of the conductor, improper track maintenance, broken rails, negligent metro engineering, or some other factors. When derailments happen and the train runs at its highest speed, serious accidents happen.
- Platform Accidents – The operator is responsible for the safety of all platforms close to the tracks. In the event that they are slippery, not repaired when they need to, wet, or simply in unsafe conditions of any kind, passengers can fall, slip, and end up with serious injuries. All of these get even worse if the passenger falls on the tracks. This can lead to a very serious injury or something more serious.
- Subway Collisions – These are not at all common. However, if they do happen, results can only be catastrophic. Something has to go very wrong with equipment, the track, or operators for something so bad to happen.
- Subway-Pedestrian Collisions – If this happens, it is very hard to escape with your life. The reason might be human error but it is also possible that some sort of defect appeared in the track or the train.
Liability
In order to recover damages in all personal injury claims, you have to prove liability. This is what the victim needs to do. As the Metro accident happens, it can be quite challenging to apportion liability. There can be several parties that were negligent and that can be considered to be at fault. And in order to obtain maximum compensation, you have to include all the relevant parties. A failure to do this leads to a lower financial compensation.
In order to determine liability, several things are done by metro accident attorneys. However, the main thing is the type of the accident (together with the actions of the parties involved, of course). As examples:
- When the injury happened on the Subway platform, the entity or company maintaining platforms might be liable.
- When the injury was caused by a train part or a track that was defective, the maintenance company or the manufacturer might be considered responsible.
- When the error made an error that led to the accident, there was poor metro maintenance done, or something connected to the operation of the train, the railway operator might be considered liable for the injuries.
When the train ends up derailed because of the actions of a negligent passenger or someone outside the tracks, at least shared responsibility for the individual will most likely be the case.