According to the Kingsport Times-News, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (“TDOT”) has started a new initiative to encourage safety at railroad crossings in Tennessee. Currently, there are 2,815 intersections in Tennessee where a rail meets a road. TDOT Maintenance Director Greg Duncan said that “rail and road crossings are one of the more dangerous hinge points in [Tennessee’s] transportation system, so [TDOT] wanted to take some time and do some guerilla marketing and get folks’ attention about meeting a train at a rail crossing.” The campaign calls for TDOT to put up 16 billboards and 94 digital posters across Tennessee through 2013. Since 2009, there have been 95 car and train accidents at railroad crossings in Tennessee.
The Tennessee train accident attorneys at Nahon, Saharovich, and Trotz (“NST Law”) warn clients to follow the TDOT’s call and exercise caution around railroad crossings at Poplar Avenue, Germantown Road, and throughout Memphis and Tennessee.  However, if a train conductor or company has been negligent and collides with a car, Team NST is here to help. Common causes of train accidents include engineer or conductor fatigue, unsafe speed, lack of safety lights or signals, mechanical failure of locomotive, switch systems or warning signals, overgrown vegetation, and drug or alcohol use by the engineer or conductor. Injuries sustained in a car accident with a train can include brain damage, loss of limbs, broken bones, and paraplegia.
In a train accident lawsuit, NST lawyers can consult with industry experts to prove the train company or conductor’s negligence. By proving negligence, NST lawyers can focus on helping clients obtain maximum damages for their injuries. When a victim has suffered a permanent injury, he or she can incur costly medical and rehabilitation expenses. In addition, that victim can lose wages from not being physically or mentally able to work. Team NST lawyers can retain economic experts to document medical bills and project one’s diminished future earning capacity. Further, NST lawyers can commission a day-in-the-life video to demonstrate how an injury affects a client’s daily life. These resources help NST clients recover maximum damages for medical bills, lost wages, permanent disability, and pain and suffering.
Nahon, Saharovich, and Trotz is the largest plaintiff’s law firm in Tennessee that pursues maximum compensation for clients injured as a result of someone else’s negligence in Memphis, Jackson, Knoxville, and surrounding Tennessee counties. If you have been hit by a train at a railroad crossing, you may have a claim. Call NST Law today at (901) 683-7000 or 1-800-LAW-4004 for a free consultation on your case.