A railroad worker was killed and three others were injured in a Metrolink train accident after his work truck, which was parked on freight tracks, was struck by a commuter train in the San Gabriel Valley. According to an Associated Press news report, the person killed was an employee of the Union Pacific Railroad who had been doing maintenance work along with a crew, the morning of March 20, 2010. Three Metrolink passengers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. There were 142 people on board the train.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of the Union Pacific Railroad worker for their devastating and sudden loss. Please keep this grieving family in your prayers.

Metrolink Train Accidents

There have been several train accidents involving Metrolink commuter trains in recent years. The most serious accident occurred in September 2008 when 25 people were killed when a Metrolink train collided with a freight train. In that case, the train's engineer was distracted as he was texting while operating the train and ran a red light. In 2005, 11 people died and 180 were injured when a suicidal man parked his SUV on the tracks in Glendale. The SUV driver, who actually jumped out at the last minute, has been convicted of murder.

Accident Cause

However, in this particular on-the-job accident, Metrolink officials have said that there is no indication that this was a suicide or the man intended to get hit. There are more questions than answers here at this point. Whose fault was this accident? Why was the worker's truck on the tracks? Railroad officials have not confirmed what type of work he was performing there. We also do not know where exactly on the tracks, he was. Was he trying to drive across the tracks? If so, was he driving through a crossing? If that was the case, were there working crossing arms and lights at the crossing? I trust investigators are trying to determine how and why this crash occurred and who was to blame for it.

Claims for Compensation

In this case, since the worker was fatally injured on the job, his family will be eligible to receive workers compensation benefits. However, the family here, may also be able to file a third party claim against Metrolink, if this crash occurred because of the engineer's negligence. The injured passengers may also be able to file a personal injury claim against Metrolink seeking compensation for medical expenses, loss of pay and other related damages.

An experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer will be able to determine whether there was any negligence involved and help secure fair compensation for the affected family members and injured victims.

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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