FELA Lawyer News Blog

Archive for 2010

Union Pacific Railroad

OMAHA, NE -  An agreement was struck between the Federal government and the Union Pacific railroad over a 2004 train derailment near San Antonio, Texas in Southwest Bexar County.

The company agreed to pay $581,855 to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for that agency’s response to the incident that released 60 tons of chlorine gas.

The deal was formalized in a lawsuit the Justice Department filed on Friday, April 2, 2010.

On June 28, 2004, a 123-car Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) train was struck from behind by a 74-car Union Pacific (UP) train in Macdona, southwest of San Antonio. Chlorine gas spread to nearby homes from a punctured tank car on the UP train.

In the incident, the UP freight train was traveling westbound about 45 mph when it struck the side of a freight car of an eastbound BNSF Company train.  ... Read More

Melbern, Ohio – On April 19, 2010 a Norfolk Southern freight train of about 37 cars derailed Monday morning at 9:22 a.m. in Melbern, Ohio. Melbern is just east of Edgerton and about four miles west of Bryan, Ohio.

The derailment of 37 Northfolk Southern rail cars occurred in two different locations.

The derailment started with about 25 cars deep in an 89-car train bound from Chicago to Roanoke, VA., railroad spokesman Rudy Husband said. There were no reported fires from the derailed cars which carried flammable methanol. ... Read More

ALMA CENTER, WI – On April 14, 2010, a railroad engineer experienced chest pains after the freight train he was driving ran into a semi trailer truck Wednesday afternoon in Jackson County, Wisconsin. The train-truck accident happened just east of the village of Alma Center where Highway 95 intersects with the railroad tracks. The accident area is in the far west central section of the state near the Minnesota border, 140 miles northwest of Madison, WI and 125 miles southeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN.

The train locomotive stayed on the tracks and no cars were derailed during the truck accident.

At about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon 41 year old truck driver James Moore of Merrillan, WI was driving a semi truck, transporting a load for Countryside Hides. He had just left the business in Alma Center and was on Lea Bros. Road preparing to enter Highway 95. As Mr. Moore attempted to turn onto the highway he pulled onto the railroad tracks directly in the path of a Canadian National Railroad train. ... Read More

WATSONVILLE, CA – A train brake operator was injured when an 18 wheeler big-rig was torn in two Thursday afternoon on April 15, 2010 when it collided with a train on West Beach Street. The truck strew hundreds of gallon buckets filled with frozen strawberries across the road, blocking traffic for about five hours.

The truck driver was traveling eastbound on West Beach Street near Industrial Road around noon, Watsonville police officer Lee Katich said. The train was backing up on the north side of West Beach, heading south. The semi truck was traveling slower than the speed limit witnesses told officers, before it crashed into the train. ... Read More

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – On April, 12, 2010, CSX railroad employees discovered an elderly woman’s body near the railroad tracks in the 2500 block of Massachusetts Avenue. The railroad workers called police Monday morning after discovering the body of the dead woman.

Crime scene units were called to the area near the intersection of Brookside and Massachusetts Avenues just after 10:00 a.m. Monday. The officers later arrived at the scene where they confirmed that they discovered the body of an older female. The body was located about 10 yards from the railroad tracks. ... Read More

SWEDEBORG, MO — On April 6, 2010, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, forcing the evacuation of Pulaski County elementary school children. The train derailment occurred in Swedeborg near the intersection of Highway T and Missouri Route 133.

Troop I of the Missouri Highway Patrol reported that 15 cars were off the tracks and that 8 of those were on their sides. ... Read More

WEVER, IA – The derailment happened a little after 8:00 p.m. Wednesday evening on April 7. According to eyewitnesses, several cars went off the tracks north of Wever, Iowa near the Skunk River.

The cause of the accident was said to be due to a mudslide in that area that happened Wednesday evening.

According to BNSF officials, three empty coal cars derailed between Kemper and Burlington. The train was completely empty at the time the cars overturned and there were no injuries reported. BNSF crews arrived at the scene. ... Read More

ROANOKE, VA – A Roanoke HAZMAT team was called to the scene after a Norfolk Southern railcar released vapors on Tuesday, April 6.

Roanoke firefighters closed a 14-block stretch of Shenandoah Avenue when the railcar in the adjacent Norfolk Southern yard released a gaseous irritant into the air, authorities said. The Roanoke HAZMAT team blocked adjacent Shenandoah Ave. ... Read More

LEE, MA – Seven Housatonic Railroad freight cars derailed in Lee, Massachusetts on Monday, March 29, 2010 around 8 p.m. Two of the freight cars tipped over onto their sides, one of them that was loaded with lumber fell into the Housatonic River.

Seven freight cars derailed at the Pine Street crossing in Lee, Massachusetts on Monday, March 29, 2010. Photo credit: Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Hazmat Team.

Lee is in western Massachusetts, about 125 miles west of Boston, about 42 miles northwest of Springfield, about 105 miles west of Framingham and about 91 miles west of Worcester. ... Read More

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS – Gordon &amp Elias, LLP, FELA lawyers, represent a Victoria, Texas railroad employee who sustained a lower back injury due to the negligence of Union Pacific Railroad.

The plaintiff is a 34 year-old machinist who was working for Union Pacific Railroad around Vanderbilt, Texas near mile post 240.

The incident occurred on October 7, 2009. The plaintiff was traveling northbound on the track from Placedo to Vanderbilt, Texas with a tamper machine following behind being operated by another employee of Union Pacific. ... Read More