Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

One person was killed and two others seriously injured last Monday in a Chicago train accident on the South Side after a Metra Electric train struck a car, the Breaking News Center reported.

It is the latest in a series of high-profile train accidents plaguing Chicago. As we reported last month on our Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, malfunctioning gates are believed to be the cause of a fatal accident involving an Amtrak train. The train struck a vehicle at the crossing, killing a popular local dance instructor. In yet another incident, a train killed two Chicago pedestrians, including a small child.

In this case, the accident at 71st Street and Merrill Avenue occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Monday. A 30-year-old man was killed and two others were transported in serious-to-critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

NBC Chicago reported the 347 train hit a vehicle at the intersection and pushed it for a block, before the car rolled over. Two passengers managed to escape but could not free the trapped driver. Emergency crews cut the driver from the wreckage but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cause of the accident remains under investigation.

The train involved did stop. Train traffic was interrupted: The 10 p.m. inbound 93rd Street/South Chicago was canceled and the outbound trains departing Chicago for 93rd Street did not travel beyond Bryn Mawr Monday night.

Each year, approximately 80 people die in Illinois train accidents, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission. The vast majority of deadly crashes involve motorists and pedestrians who are injured or killed after being struck by trains at railroad crossings. The commission reports that motor vehicle accidents involving trains are 40 times more likely to be fatal.

UPDATE: There is now video showing that the gates were not down and the lights were not activated during last Friday's fatal Chicago area train crash, according to NBC News. The video is from the Amtrak train involved in the collision. It is also being reported that Canadian National crews had been working within a mile of the crash earlier that day and accidentally disabled the warning system and gates.

Witnesses to Friday's train accident that killed a dance instructor in Cook County are saying that the crossing gates and warning lights were not working when an Amtrak train came barreling through, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center. One of the witnesses was an Assistant Cook County State's Attorney who works in the Old Orchard Courthouse.

The prosecutor stated that she was right in front of the SUV that was hit at the University Park railroad crossing, and that she was very close to being hit herself. She said there was no way for the SUV driver to know the train was coming and that the first warning of the danger was the train blowing its horn. She went on to say that no one was trying to go around a gate or beat the train, and that no one knew the train was there.

The tracks are reportedly owned by the Canadian National Railway Company who has sent investigators to the scene. A Will County sheriff's police spokesman stated that part of the problem is the tracks are too close to a stop sign at Governor's Highway, and that drivers can get caught on the tracks while approaching it.

Click here to read the entire story.

Suburban law enforcement are targeting railroad crossings for increased enforcement in the wake of a fatal Chicago pedestrian accident last month in North Chicago.

Rail road crossings in suburbs, including Elmhurst, Lombard and Des Plaines, are being monitored for gate-crashers and other violators, the Breaking News Center reported.

Ignoring a crossing signal or lowered gate is punishable by a $250 fine.

As we reported last month on Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer blog, a woman and an infant were killed by a Metra train near North Chicago station.

A total of 16 non-suicide Illinois train accidents were reported last year. Commuters in a rush, kids playing on the tracks and motorists disregarding gates and warning lights are all causes of Chicago train accidents.

The Illinois Commerce Commission reports 80 collisions involving trains occurred last year -- down from the 129 collisions that were reported in 2008.

In last month's case, a woman carrying an infant in heavy fog was attempting to catch up to her family, which had already crossed the tracks; she tried to cross ahead of a train moving into the station.

Continue reading "Authorities targeting suburban railroad crossing to reduce Chicago train accidents" »

A woman and a 1-year-old girl were killed in a Chicago train accident on Saturday when a Metra train struck them as they crossed the tracks with family in suburban North Chicago, the Sun-Times reported.

The Metra Union Pacific North Line train No. 806 struck the woman carrying a baby just after 8 a.m. near the North Chicago station on Lakeside Drive, FOX News reported. The Lake County Coroner pronounced the women dead at the scene.

The infant was taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where she was pronounced dead about 11:30 a.m.

The Daily Herald reported that the infant was the woman's niece.

The woman was crossing the tracks with the infant's father and another child, both of whom made it across the tracks before the train came.

The train had departed the Waukegan station at 8:50 a.m. and was due at the Great Lakes station shortly before 9 a.m. The train does not stop at the North Chicago station.

None of the passengers on the train were injured. They were transferred to another inbound train headed for Chicago.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the engineer waited until emergency crews arrived before exiting the cab, then met with authorities and the two conductors without speaking to anyone on the train.

The train remained parked for several hours as investigators combed the scene and took photographs.

A Chicago train accident at a crossing occurred Monday morning when the inbound Metra train on the Rock Island line hit a sport utility vehicle, causing long train and traffic delays, the Chicago Breaking News Center reported.

The No. 406 train originating in Joliet hit the SUV at 111th and Hale Avenue at about 7 a.m. Metra police were investigating.

While no one on the train was reported injured, Chicago train accidents at crossings can cause serious injury to motorists and can be caused by a number of factors, including malfunctioning crossing gates and warning lights.

The weekend began with another Chicago public transit accident -- The Chicago bus accident involved a Chicago Transit Authority bus and a school bus, according to the News Center.

The CTA bus with 50 passengers collided with the Stockton/Michigan school bus with half-a-dozen students aboard. The accident occurred at about 8 a.m. Friday at Oak Street and Michigan as the CTA bus was southbound on Michigan after it exited Lake Shore Drive.

The bus was trying to avoid other vehicles involved in a prior accident when it collided with the school bus.

Problems were also reported on the Kennedy Expressway, where a trio of Chicago car accidents included a rollover crash on the inbound Kennedy near Lawrence Avenue and a pair of crashes on the inbound Kennedy near Randolph Street downtown.

On Friday, a fatal semi accident involving a Chicago trucker occurred when the driver jackknifed into a van carrying disabled adults near Springfield, Ohio, claiming four lives, according to media reports.

Four Chicago Transit Authority employees have been placed on unpaid leave, the Chicago Tribune reported, after a weekend Chicago train accident sent at least 14 people to the hospital.

The Sun-Times reported that 14 of the train's 48 passengers were taken by ambulances to area hospitals.

Transit officials have blamed the Green Line train derailment on a missed "stop" signal, causing the northbound train to jump the tracks at the 59th Street junction shortly before noon on Saturday, December 12th.

"The investigation is still under way, but the preliminary indication is human error," a CTA spokesperson said. "The equipment -- signals, train and track -- all appeared to be working properly."

Both operators aboard the train, a supervisor overseeing the shuttle operation and a control-tower employee were removed from service pending the outcome of the investigation, the CTA reported.

The Sun-Times reported the same junction was the site of a Chicago train derailment last May, which also sent 14 people to the hospital. The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to conclude its investigation in that case, the preliminary finding was also operator error.

A pair of Chicago train accidents claimed two lives and injured several others Thursday afternoon.

A woman remained hospitalized Friday morning after her husband was killed in a Chicago car accident involving a train. Their car was struck by a Metra train in Bensenville at a railroad crossing near York Road and Main Street at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center.

The woman was taken to Elmhust Memorial Hospital in serious but stable condition.

The Daily Herald reported the accident happened as the train struck the vehicle in a railroad crossing while approaching the Bensenville station. The vehicle was pushed nearly a quarter of a mile west of the crossing before coming to rest.

A half hour earlier, a pedestrian was killed in a Chicago train accident when she was struck in Lake Forest by an Amtrak train bound for Seattle, the Breaking News Center reported.

The 49-year-old Grayslake woman was apparently at a pedestrian crossing when hit by the Empire Builder train. Another person also was reported injured in the Chicago pedestrian accident.

Both trains were delayed for several hours as a result of the accidents. The Bensenville police, Metra police and the DuPage County Coroner's Office are investigating, according to the Sun-Times.

Authorities are investigating two Chicago subway accidents recently involving C.T.A. Blue Line trains.

A person died October 25th in the afternoon after being hit by the Blue Line train in the loop, according to WGNtv.

Police were conducting a death investigation shortly after 1 p.m. at the Monroe Street subway station. Northbound and southbound trains temporarily operated on a singled track between Grand Avenue station and the Racine Avenue station, bypassing Monroe.

On October 27th in the morning, a woman was rushed to the hospital after falling onto the tracks at about 8:45 a.m. in the Dearborn Street subway station. She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition, according to The Sun-Times.

The woman was not struck by a train. Power was shut off to the line between the Lasalle and Clark stations but was restored after she got back to the platform, the Chicago Breaking News Center reported.

More than 700 people died in collisions with trains in 2007, according to the Federal Railway Administration, about 450 of those were pedestrians. Through the first nine months of 2009, 28 people have died in Illinois railway accidents.

Each year, there are an average of more than 140 train accidents in Illinois, resulting in 40 fatalities. Many of these fatalities involve pedestrians who fall onto the tracks or are struck by trains.

Authorities are investigating what caused a CTA train to take off with a baby stroller lodged in a door; the stroller was dragged along the platform until the little girl was flung onto the ground along the tracks.

The child's adult caregiver told police the train took off with the stroller caught in its doors, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Some Chicago train accidents have nothing to do with crashing trains. But, like in this instance, involve people who are injury embarking or disembarking, fall in a stairwell or on a platform or are injured in a Chicago car accident at a railroad crossing.

The child landed about 10 feet past the end of the platform and was found conscious, flat on her back amid other items knocked out of the stroller.

The Chicago Transit Authority driver has been suspended without pay pending a review. A union representative said such an occurrence would require both a mechanical malfunction and an operator error.

The driver told investigators the presence of something in the door should have bounced the door open, much like an elevator door.

The child was released from the hospital Tuesday night after being treated and kept overnight for observation, The Sun-Times reported.

There are fewer instances of trains blocking Chicago streets, Canadian National Railway told regulators Tuesday, but acknowledged more work needs to be done after its purchase of Chicago area-tracks from Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway.

The company said it had 11 instances of trains blocking Chicago-area streets for 10 minutes or longer in May, compared to 14 in April and 50 in March when it first acquired the tracks that arc westward around Chicago through Illinois and Indiana suburbs, according to a report Tuesday in the Journal of Commerce.

The Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes monitor the local railway industry and its impact on motorists' safety. In addition to the deadly Rockford, IL, train crash last week, which was also operated by Canadian National Railway, instances of trains blocking area roads for an extended length of time can lead to car accidents.

Rear-end collisions are common. Motorists also can become understandably frustrated with the delay and attempt to drive around down-track gates, leading to the potential for accident and injury once the train begins moving again. And, when train blockages at intersections become a common occurrence, motorists can sometimes try to get through ahead of an oncoming train.

The Canadian railroad company also reported the duration of the delays is declining -- from several instances of roadway traffic being stalled for hours because of stopped trains in March, to two lengthy delays in April and one last month.

That train stretched more than a mile long with 106 loaded railcars and blocked a road at Joliet, Ill., for an hour, after stalling on an uphill climb as it headed out of town.

The company reports corrective action for each blockage in an attempt to pacify suburban complaints, where the acquisition is being contested in federal court. It also admitted the problem has been alleviated somewhat by a down economy and fewer freight loads and train trips.

Canadian National Railway also said it has made safety presentations at several area schools, and has posted 225 “no trespassing” signs on its railroad property from Gary, Ind., to West Chicago.

Continue reading "Fewer trains blocking area roads could reduce traffic accidents, Chicago car accident laywers say" »

In Rockford, Illinois a woman was killed Friday night after a Canadian National Railway Co. freight train derailed, according to the N.Y. Times. The victim was in a car waiting for the train to pass by. The rail cars were carrying ethanol, and when 18 cars derailed there was a large explosion. Hundreds of people from nearby homes had to be evacuated.

At one point 14 train cars were on fire, and 5 were still burning the next morning. The flames lasted though Saturday. 74 cars on the train were carrying ethanol.

Three other people at the scene were able to flee from their cars and survive, however they were severely burned. They were taken to area hospitals for treatment. The woman who died, Zoila Tellez of Rockford, also tried to flee, but only made it 20 feet and then collapsed.

The Chicago area train crash being investigated by the Federal Railroad Administration, Canadian National, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Associated Press has reported that the NTSB was taking a look at high water levels in the area of the crash as a possible cause. There was heavy rainfall in the Chicago area during the days prior to the derailment.

It has not been reported if the estate of the the deceased or the burn victims have retained personal injury lawyers to pursue a civil claim

In Romeoville, Illinois an elderly husband and wife were killed Thursday afternoon when their car was hit by an Amtrak train after they allegedly went around a descending crossing arm and started across the tracks, according to the Naperville Sun. The train accident occurred at New Avenue and Romeo Road around 1 pm.

The couple, Harry C. Hoffman, age 74 and his wife, Doreen J. Hofman, age 64 died at the scene. The damage to the vehicle was so bad that the police are not yet able to state who was driving the car. One occupant was ejected from the vehicle and the car was badly damaged and knocked several hundred feet down the tracks.

There are several issues related to the train crash being reported. First, while the gates descended there was still a green light for traffic, which police are speculating may have confused the driver. Further, witnesses are reporting that the car made a right turn on to the tracks as the gates were still descending, not after they were already down.

It is likely that Chicago train crash lawyers will soon be involved. The attorneys that handle the case will likely retain train safety experts to help them determine the causes of the accident.

One issue that I am curious about is the the fact that the couple's car was hit while the gates were still on the way down, or had just gotten down, by a train traveling at a high speed through a congested suburban area. (Were the gates dropping too late? Was the train speeding?) Further, I would like to know more about the traffic lights and whether the crossing is confusing to drivers.

It is being reported that this deadly accident is not the first train vs. motor vehicle collision at this crossing.

Continue reading "Chicago bound Amtrak train hits and kills Joliet couple" »

Train service on the Metra Union Pacific North Line was delayed for over two hours on Thursday evening after a train hit a pedestrian on the North Side of Chicago, according to chicagobreakingnews.com. The accident occurred around 5 p.m. just South of the Rogers Park train station.

The train engineer on outbound train no. 339 reported the collision and then stopped the train. Emergency workers found the body near Ravenswood and Thome Avenue.

The man hit by the train appeared to be in his 20s and it has not been reported as to why he was on the tracks. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

In Chicago, Illinois a truck and a CTA train collided this past Sunday afternoon, according to MSNBC. The train accident occurred at 4648 N. Kedzie Avenue when a truck tried to get around the crossing gates while a CTA brown line train was pulling out of the Kedzie station. The train hit the back end of the truck, and it did not derail.

Service was delayed for an hour as workers moved the train back and got the truck off the tracks. Normal service was going again by 2 pm. The truck driver was ticketed for causing the collision.

While no injuries have been reported at this time, if people involved in the crash were injured, here's what could happen: The passengers on the train have a claim against the truck driver and the trucking company that caused the accident. Typically, trucks carry larger commercial insurance policies, so unless there were catastrophic injuries (and none were reported here) there should be enough insurance to cover the loss.

The CTA employees involved in the crash actually can make two claims. They have a workers' compensation claim, as they were injured on the job, and they would also have a 3rd party claim against the truck driver and truck company.

Finally, the truck driver has a case. Even though he was at fault, if injured, he has a work injury case. Work comp. is a no fault system for injured employees to make a recovery in the State of Illinois.

If you have been injured in a train accident, truck accident, or have been injured on the job, call Abels & Annes for a free consultation.

In Chicago, Illinois, a CTA employee is lucky to be alive after being electrocuted while working as a flagger on the elevated tracks near the Belmont platform. Kathy Cardenas, age 32, was electrocuted on July 24, 2008, after she made contact with the 3rd rail. Her left hand and arm, and her back side were badly burned. She was rushed to Illinois Masonic Medical Center for medical attention where she was hospitalized and underwent skin grafts.

Ms. Cardenas has retained Chicago accident lawyers from Abels & Annes, P.C. and Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson & Bareck, P.C. to jointly represent her in a workers' compensation claim against the Chicago Transit Authority.

In Chicago, Illinois it is now being reported that twenty-four people were injured today when a Chicago Transit Authority train derailed, this according to NBC News and several other news sources. The accident involved a Green Line train at a junction on the elevated tracks located at 319 E. Garfield Ave. on the South Side. At least two train cars reportedly derailed.

Train service was temporarily suspended in the area of the accident and shuttle buses are being used to transport passengers. The injured were taken to area hospitals for treatment with non-life-threatening injuries.

Click here for crash photo and full story.

In Chicago, Illinois ten people were injured today when a Chicago Transit Authority train derailed, according to WQAD.COM. The accident involved a Green Line train at a junction on the elevated tracks. At least two train cars reportedly derailed.

Train service is temporarily suspended in the area of the accident and shuttle buses are being used to transport passengers. The ten injured were taken to area hospitals for treatment.

Click here to read entire story.

In the Chicago Area suburb of Des Plaines, Illinois, a car driver was killed Thursday night by a Metra train, according to the Chicago Tribune. The car accident allegedly occurred when Robert Wells III of Des Plaines drove his vehicle around down crossing gates at Pearson and Minor Street and was hit by Union Pacific Northwest Train No. 645. A pedestrian was also hurt in the train accident when the car hit him after it spun away from the tracks and ended up on a sidewalk.

Ricky Collins, of Chicago, was the injured pedestrian. He was standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross the tracks when he was struck. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General in Park Ridge, Illinois.

Wells was pronounced dead at Lutheran General shortly after the crash. No other injuries were reported.

Two Chicago area Metra trains hit a minivan on Monday evening in the western suburb of Hinsdale, Illinois after the driver got stuck on the tracks and left his vehicle. Franciszek Chudzik, 72, of Aurora, Illinois allegedly crossed two sets of tracks and tried to make a left turn onto a third set of tracks when his vehicle got stuck, according to TheDoings-Hinsdale.com.

Witnesses actually tried to move the van before an eastbound train hit it. People had to yell at the driver to get out of the van before it was struck. The driver then exited the vehicle, put his keys in his pocket and walked away. The minivan was also hit by a second train heading westbound. One witness stated that the van tuned into a fireball after it was hit. The minivan was practically obliterated by the impacts. Click here for Hinsdale, Illinois van vs. train crash photo.

Chudzik was arrested at the scene of the train / car crash and charged with DUI. He allegedly had a blood alcohol content of greater than .08. The police officers conducted sobriety tests at the scene.

David Abels & Associates, P.C. has been contacted by a west suburban resident who was on the westbound Metra train. He sustained headaches and neck injuries as a result of the Illinois train / car collision. He had no idea what caused the accident when he contacted our office. This same passenger was also on last week's Metra train that hit an automobile where the car had driven several hundred feet down the tracks. He was not injured in that accident.

A Chicago area resident was killed in a car vs. train collision on Tuesday when his pick up truck got stuck on ice at a train crossing in Gary, Indiana. He was hit by a South Shore Line commuter train, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The man killed has been identified as Charles Jones of Gary, Indiana. It has been reported that the gates at the crossing were down and Jones went around them to beat the train. The train crash occurred at U.S. Highway 12 and County Line Road at about 5:30 a.m. between the Portage/Ogden Dunes and Miller stations. The train was headed to downtown Chicago.

It has not been indicated if there were injured train passengers, or if there was any negligent conduct on the part of the train operator. The train was supposed to be very crowded and standing room only.

In Cook County, Illinois, accident lawyers have already filed a train accident lawsuit on behalf of a family that was on the Amtrak train that crashed into a freight train on the South Side last Friday, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The lawsuit was filed against Amtrak and the Norfolk Southern Freight Company.

John Hamstra and his family were headed to Chicago for a weekend of holiday shopping when the Chicago bound train, that was reportedly speeding, crashed into a freight train. Hamstra sustained a fractured shoulder and a concussion.

The lawsuit is alleging negligence against both train companies, and the personal injury lawyers for the plaintiffs will be seeking a protective order for all documents related to the accident.

The Amtrak train was allegedly going 25 miles in excess of the speed that track signals indicated was safe, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. 71 people, including several Amtrak employees, went to 12 area hospitals as a result of the crash near 52nd and Shields.

In Chicago, Illinois an Amtrak train has crashed into a freight train causing multiple injuries, according to the N.Y Times. The impact was strong enough to knock passenger seats off their hinges. There were 188 people on board at the time of the train crash, and those most seriously injured were near the front of the train.

The train was going from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. The engine of the Amtrak came to rest on top of the freight train. Hydraulic tools had to be used to remove people from the engine car.

Over a dozen ambulances came to the accident site, and emergency workers also set up near by in an elementary school where injuries were assessed. The passengers were divided into 3 groups based on severity of injuries.

One passenger believed the train was only traveling about 15 mph at the time of impact when he heard a loud noise and was lurched forward. The witness thought a lot of people were injured when train seats broke off their hinges.

Click here to read entire story.

In the Chicago area suburb of Geneva, Illinois a pedestrian has been struck by a Metra train on the Union Pacific West Line railroad tracks around 5:30 p.m., according to the Daily Herald. The pedestrian, who has not been identified, died in the train accident. The occurrence took place near the Fox River. The Geneva Police and Fire Departments were on the scene, but there has not been any indication yet as to what caused the accident.

The Federal Railroad Administration reports that train related accidents in Illinois declined in 2006, but statistics for 2007 are not yet available.