Railroad Accidents

Nna, et al v. American Standard, Inc., 630 F. Supp. 2d 115 (2009)   In an action brought by the widow and injured co-workers of a Massachusetts transportation company employee for a defectively designed warning device (train horn), Sugarman attorneys were able to achieve a settlement on behalf of their clients after the court denied the defendant horn manufacturer’s motion for Summary Judgment, where the manufacturer tried to argue that the horn was not defective and did not play a role in causing the accident.

Train workers injured by failure to monitor their work  Two railroad workers were severely injured while working in a tunnel and struck by a moving train when there was improper monitoring of their work. Both recovered under the Federal Employers Liability Act.

Tryon v. City of Lowell, 29 Mass. App. Ct. 720 (1991)  The Superior Court’s judgment for the defendant was overturned because the extent of the duty owed by the City to an injured child was a question of fact for the jury to determine and the defendant could not avoid liability under the discretionary function exemption of the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act (G. L. c. 258, § 10(b)). At trial, the jury awarded Sugarman‘s clients damages for injuries to a child trespasser when his arm was run over by a train as he walked along railroad tracks on the way to school.

Workers struck by train  Two railroad electricians injured by unexpected movement of train. Settlement for electricians thrown from man-lift onto moving train.