CAR VS TRAIN WHO IS AT FAULT?

Question

Im a railroad conductor. I stopped my train at a crossing.

I looked both ways, no traffic, I called the train to back up over the crossing. I was standing on the crossing when out of no where i see a car coming right for me. I waved and waved with bright red gloves and i was wearing a reflective vest. The driver was looking down, i jumped on the railcar as the car slammed into the train car.

There was a stop sign, crossbucks, and me.

The driver never even touched the brakes.

The driver was hurt, but was released from the hospital that day.

My question is...... can she still sue my company?

I did everything by my company rules.

Answer 1

Sorry pal maybe because Iam from the UK but as you are a trained conductor you would not ask this question you would got the police, Statements wouldbe taken  you would have accident forms to fill in ..

The car driver would have been breatheraysed..The railway company would have held a big inquest you  would soon have known if you at fault ...and been suspended  but you are still working.. You wouldnot care if she sued or not ,the insurance bods would sort that..  

Answer 2

Rango's advice is excellent as is his whole answer.Be as concise as you can if called to give a deposition.It goes a long ways towards helping your credibility. He's completely right about lawsuits concerning the public and the railroads.We had a drunk walk into the side of a passing train and almost get killed(hard to believe a person could be that wasted).He sued and won!

Answer 3

Yes, she can sue.  Happens a lot...

But, even if at fault a driver can win in court.  The way that is handled is the jury is to determine what percentage of the accident was her fault and reduce any settlement accordingly.

But don't freak out.  If a suit is brought anyone and everyone will be named as defendants, you, the company, the people who maintain the roadway, the car manufacturer, the company that made the cross bucks, etc., etc.  Anyone they can think of.

But there is a bright side;  the driver lived to tell of her inattentiveness and you'll get time off with pay for any court appearances you may have to make....

Answer 4

Rango's right that anyone can sue for anything, but in your case, I think you're pretty safe. From your description of the accident, it sounds like you were riding the leading end of a shove, and you told your engineer to stop short of a crossing so you could provide flag protection. You were wearing your gloves and vest, and all the appropriate signage was in place.

You're pretty much protected on every front. Sometimes the driver will sue because there was poor visibility at the crossing, and they couldn't see the oncoming train. That card is out of the deck because you stopped and flagged the crossing. Sometimes they'll say the train was traveling too fast, but I imagine your engineer was creeping across so you could re-board. You also have a one-up because you were standing in the crossing. Unfortunately, flagmen are struck at construction sites fairly often, and in those cases, courts tend to side with the victim. At least in the States, endangering a flagman is a bad idea.

Anyway. If only because of self-interest, the railroad will protect you. We had a car blow through a flagged crossing at sixty miles an hour, and the driver had the gall to show up at base and complain about the incident. He started huffing that we should install gates and lights at the crossing, and as the story unfolded, our director ripped into him mid-sentence. One of the better lines I remember is, "You better thank God you didn't hit my flagman, 'cause if you did I'd nail you to the ------- wall." As far as I know, we never heard from that guy ever again.

Keep working safe, and live by the cardinal rules.

Answer 5

why was the conductorr driving the train in he first place?

I thought it was theENGINEERR THAT DRIVES THE TRAIN

not the conductor!  

Answer 6

I am sorry to say this, but anyone in this country can be sued anytime for anything.

You were not at fault, the inattentive driver was but that changes nothing.

I can cite case after case that I am familiar with where inattentive drivers ran into the side of trains and sued, sometimes they won, sometimes the railroad company settled out of court rather than take their chances with a jury trial.

If you havent already done this, write down everything, and I mean absolutely everything you can think of regarding the accident, if she does sue, it may be a long time before you have to give a deposition or testify and you dont want to say "I think" or "I dont remember". The weather, other vehicles, the approach road, her behavior, does anyone have photos?

Hopefully she will realize just how lucky she is to be alive and instead of talking to a lawyer she will be in church on her knees thanking God for giving her a second chance but in this day and age . . . . . . . you never know.

The age old railroad expression applies to your incident more than ever: CYA.

Answer 7

im pretty sure trains always have the right of way when it comes to situations like this.  so no she can't sue, it was her own fault.

Answer 8

I think the car is at fault.

Answer 9

The car should have stopped at the crossing. The driver was negligent. She put her own life, yours and possibly others' at risk and was lucky to escape alive.

She may try to sue but if you did everything by the book and did all you could to avoid an accident, I don't think she'll have a case.

Answer 10

The driver of the car. She is the one will be ticketed by the police.

Answer 11

You stopped the shove, got down, protected the crossing, which also had a stop sign and crossbucks.  Just the fact that the guy ran the stop sign puts him at fault.  And he ignored the crossbucks and you.  I see no problem for you.  The only problem could be that it is your word against his, and if your company is anything like the one I work for, (it starts with a U and ends with a P), then they will take the other guys word and try to fire you.  Just make sure that if there are any proceedings in which you are involved, make sure that your union provides you with good representation.  

Answer 12

no she didnt stop and wasnt paying attention. that her stupid problem. her insurance will cover her bills.  you shouldnt be at fault for someone elses stupidity and unawarness.  

Answer 13

when ever you cross the railroad sign's if you get hit bye a train the driver of the car is at fault unless there are ssomething wrongwith the signsit does not mater the car is at fault no-mater what you did . dont worey.