The Los Angeles car accident lawyers at BISNAR | CHASE have long been concerned about the lack of safety features at railway crossings that lead to many major injury and fatal accidents in Los Angeles every year. The Los Angeles Times recently published a series of articles echoing our misgivings, on such an absence of cautionary measures at intersections where Metrolink tracks bisects crowded urban areas. According to the Times investigation, there are no safety features at these intersections despite repeated pedestrian accident fatalities.

Sherry Griswold, the mother of 23-year-old David Griswold, who died at the Van Nuys Boulevard crossing 12 years ago, has been appealing for improvements, but her pleas have not been heard so far. Griswold told the Times that she tried to find out exactly what happened in her son's case and she even tried putting up posters along San Fernando Road asking eyewitnesses to call her.

Tragic Pedestrian Accident

David was skateboarding on his way to a nearby bus stop on San Fernando Road when he was hit by a train. He may have been about to use the open right-of-way as a short cut, his mother says. After his death, a fence was erected along the road from the intersection to the bus stop, but it has since broken down. But the most disturbing theory is that David's view of the oncoming train may have been blocked as he reached down to pick up his skateboard near the crossing arm base that is on the sidewalk next to the track. According to Metrolink records, four pedestrians have been killed in California train accidents at the Los Angeles intersection, two since Griswold.

It is shameful that these Metrolink intersections do not have swinging arms, bright warning lights, one-way gates or strategic railings that are used by train agencies around the country to reduce pedestrian accidents. In Santa Ana, pleas from residents to install a pedestrian bridge over the tracks near a school where a young girl was killed, have also fallen on deaf ears.

Train Accident Safety Measures

In these cases and in the case of last years catastrophic Chatsworth Metrolink train accident, what we've seen with this agency is an unwillingness to implement modern safety measures or even safety strategies that have been available for decades now! Cost may have been an inhibiting factor, but that is no excuse to blow off these victims' families who have been campaigning for safer intersections. It's about time Metrolink officials looked into each and everyone of their intersections, update, upgrade and retrofit them so such tragic pedestrian accidents may be prevented.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries in a California train accident or a pedestrian accident, please contact an experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to find out more about your legal rights and options.

The BISNAR|CHASE personal injury law firm is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.

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