Fatal Train-Car Collision in West Palm
On Behalf of Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa | February 15, 2023 | Personal Injury
Harreen Bertisch, a 76-year-old woman from Palm Beach Gardens, was killed from injuries she suffered when a freight train hit her Honda SUV on the evening of October 14, 2022. She was rushed to St. Mary’s Medical Center by the West Palm Beach Fire Rescue, where she succumbed to fatal injuries.
The crash occurred at about 5:30 p.m. According to the police, Bertisch was westbound on Fern St. near Quadrille Blvd. and stopped on the train tracks when the crossing gate arms were lowered. A freight train, which has 175 cars and is around two miles long, was heading northbound and traveling at around 40 miles per hour when it hit Bertisch’s SUV and fatally injured her.
According to city investigators, the train personnel activated the horns and emergency brakes approximately 1,000 feet before the collision. They also confirmed that all warning signals and crossing gates were working properly at the time of the crash. The wrecked backed up traffic for around two miles along Dixie Hwy, as the freight train stopped on the railroad tracks and blocked the east-west roadways.
Determining Fault and Liability for Train Accidents
Like other kinds of public transportation, railway companies are classified as common carriers, which means they transport people for a fee. While common carriers can’t guarantee the safety of all road users all the time, they still have a higher duty of care than drivers of private vehicles when it comes to taking the necessary safety measures to make sure that their passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists are safe.
Due to the higher level of reasonable care that they must maintain, people who have been injured in train accidents can hold the operator or carrier liable for their injuries and related losses if they could have prevented the accident but didn’t because they failed to exercise greater care. The problem is that determining who caused the accident may be challenging because many factors could have contributed to or caused the accident.
In most cases, an injured party may have a claim against the railway owner or train operator. However, if a malfunctioning or defective railway or train component caused the accident, the injured party may also have a claim against the component manufacturer and those who serviced, repaired, installed, or sold the defective component under the state’s product liability law.
While such situations result in additional parties that injured parties can seek compensation from, identifying these parties and proving liability will need the assistance of an experienced lawyer with the resources required to investigate these kinds of complex claims.
Get Legal Assistance From Seasoned West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyers Now
If you have suffered injuries in a train accident, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa. You can set up your complimentary consultation with our West Palm Beach personal injury lawyers by contacting us online or calling 866-640-7117. If you lost a loved one in a train accident in Florida, we can also help you navigate a wrongful death claim.