Our railroad experts are civil engineers with backgrounds in bridge, track and grade crossing safety. We are frequently retained to evaluate grade crossing collisions and train/subway collisions involving pedestrians. Our architects evaluate pedestrian falls in railroad and subway facilities.
Grade crossing collisions:
- Were corner sight distances adequate?
- Was the profile of the road across the tracks within established criteria?
- Was the crossing properly marked?
- Were the crossing warning devices appropriate and did they operate properly?
- Should the train operator have seen the vehicle and stopped the train without impact?
Pedestrian collisions:
- Should the operator have seen the pedestrian and stopped the train or subway without impact?
- Were there pedestrian protection devices that should have been present?
Other:
- Was public access to the train facility, including power devices, adequately restricted?
- Was recreational use of the railroad land appropriately restricted?
- Was the inter-track gap between platform and car reasonable?
- Was the platform surface appropriately slip resistant and well maintained?
Often, additional areas of expertise are employed when evaluating injuries involving trains. Human factors experts evaluate driver and pedestrian response to signs and warnings. Meteorologists determine the impact weather conditions may have had on a collision and biomechanical engineers analyze injuries to reconstruct the event. Electrical engineers evaluate issues involving power device contacts, including “third rail”, overhead lines and other power devices.