The tragic derailment of an Amtrak train makes five train accidents so far this year. The Association of American Railroads has boasted that 2014 was “the safest year on record for the railroad industry.” But that claim is under scrutiny and doesn’t hold up.
The New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) has reviewed federal reports and railroad safety data that suggests that although rail is much safer than it was in recent decades, some indicators of safety have become worse, not better, over the last few years:
- For the last two years, hazardous materials releases have increased.
- Accidents involving fires have doubled since the past year.
And, over the next few years it is expected that derailments will double, according to projections buried in government reports from the same agencies that are currently issuing new safety rules.
NECIR’s findings come on the heels of a media relations push by the railroad industry in response to increased concerns over recent accidents as well as new rules released by the Federal Department of Transportation earlier in the month regulating tank cars carrying crude, ethanol, and other flammable liquids.
Everyone seems to agree on the fact that as more flammable liquids are transported, there will inevitably be more accidents involving quite serious explosions and leaks of these liquids. This is where new federal regulations governing tank cars comes in. While the rules would make tank cars less prone to accidents, it would also allow older, less-safe tank cars to remain in service.
A coalition of environmental groups, including Earthjustice, and others, filed a challenge last week against the Department of Transportation’s new rules in a federal appeals court.
“It doesn’t make sense for an agency to admit that there are sub-standard cars and then let them remain on the rails for up to 10 years,” says Kristen Boyles, an attorney for Earthjustice. “We don’t do that when we regulate other products.”
Our team of railroad accident injury attorneys believes that safety must be priority no. 1 when transporting these potentially-dangerous substances. Allowing older trains to remain in operation is a bad idea. Also, the industry must pick up the pace and fully implement positive train control.
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.
One Comment
Ron Schalow
Here's a thought...instead of putting our firefighters, children, and towns, in the way of 350 foot fireballs, & spending taxpayer money to prepare for the next Lac-Megantic; perhaps the Bakken producers should be made to remove the explosive gases, like propane, butane, ethane, and methane, from the flammable crude, before pouring the whole concoction into a hundred 30,000 gallon tubes, and running them through our towns. It's called stabilization, and the oil industry has been doing it since the world was black & white.
Why oil trains (don't have to) explode: http://s.oregonlive.com/uxda2zU
https://www.facebook.com/BombTrainBuckStopsWithNorthDakota
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