San Jose

Train and Light Rail Accident Lawyers

San Jose Train and Light Rail Accidents

With expensive gas prices, congested freeways, and ever-longer commutes, it’s no surprise the 1.049 million residents in and around San Jose, California are choosing public transportation and alternative commuting methods more frequently. Commuters, tourists, and residents alike are turning to Caltrain and the Santa Clara Valley’s light rail system, the VTA, more and more to meet their needs.

Unfortunately, with a rise in popularity and rise in ridership comes a rise in San Jose train and light rail accidents, injuries, and even fatalities. In September 2019, a woman was hit on the tracks and killed by Caltrain – the 13th such fatality reported by the transportation provider that year. Though injuries and even fatalities from such events are unfortunately commonplace, they are rarely inevitable or unpreventable; negligence often plays a part. Even when exercising the utmost caution in and around trains and light rail in San Jose, injuries do still occur, and the responsible parties should be held accountable.

Common Types and Causes of San Jose Train and Light Rail Accidents

There are many types of San Jose train and light rail accidents. Given that both small towns in San Mateo county leading to San Jose are served by light rail and trains as well as San Jose itself, many different problems can occur. With trains, common accident causes include:

  • Train on train collisions
  • Motor vehicle on train collisions
  • Bicycle on train collisions
  • Pedestrian on train collisions
  • Railroad crossing accidents
  • Derailments

Train derailment is a disastrous event that often causes severe injuries anyone on board. It can be caused by excess cargo weight, speeding, broken or faulty tracks, track obstructions, and faulty equipment; however, they’re most commonly associated with failures to comply with safety protocol. Railroad crossing accidents, on the other hand, are more often caused by defective signals and/or gates, failure to use lights and/or horns when approaching a crossing, crossings obstructed by debris, and objects protruding from the train.

Light rail accidents are typically caused differently due to their prolific presence in downtown San Jose. Most collisions occur at unprotected crossings and involve contact with other trains, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motor vehicles. Accidents are often caused by:

  • Speeding
  • Negligent operation
  • Poor line maintenance
  • Poorly parking a light rail car
  • Obstruction on the track

No matter how these accidents occur, they are serious events that result in high fatality rates. Those who are lucky enough to survive often sustain catastrophic injuries to the head, neck, back, spinal cord, bones, and internal organs. These injuries can have after-effects for a lifetime and incur astronomical medical bills, changing a victim’s future forever.

Determining Responsibility for San Jose Train and Light Rail Accidents

Several different parties may be liable for personal or wrongful death injuries arising from San Jose train and light rail accidents. Depending on the circumstances, liability may attach to transit or rail authorities, maintenance companies, motor vehicle drivers, train companies, train manufacturers, and even engineers. An experienced personal injury attorney can help victims determine who may be liable based on the facts of their unique case.

Winning Your San Jose Train and Light Rail Accident Injury Case

There are different paths for recovering compensation for train and light rail injuries depending upon who’s at fault. If an at-fault vehicle driver caused the accident, you’d usually first file a claim with their insurance company. If you retain an attorney, they can conduct an investigation into fault, communicate with the insurer, determine a fair value for your claim, and negotiate for the best possible settlement offer to compensate you.

However, sometimes a fair settlement offer isn’t forthcoming, or the at-fault party was not operating the train or light rail vehicle. In these cases, you’d file either a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible party. Depending on who’s to blame, you have different deadlines by which you must begin your lawsuit. With private parties you have 2 years from your injury date to file, but with government agencies and entities your window is only 6 months.

Compensation Available from Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims

Depending upon who was injured or killed in a San Jose train or light rail accident, different lawsuits may be filed. In personal injury lawsuits, you seek compensation to make up for the injuries you suffered from someone’s bad behavior. Personal injury victims commonly seek damages for injuries like medical bills, lost wages, and even pain and suffering.

If, however, you lost a loved one as a result of the accident, you would file a wrongful death lawsuit in court seeking compensation for financial and other harms resulting from their avoidable, sudden and unexpected absence. Victims often pursue damages for:

  • Lost companionship, love, and support
  • Expected financial contributions from the deceased to the household
  • Funeral and/or burial expenses

Contact a San Jose Train and Light Rail Accident Attorney

If a San Jose train accident injured you or killed a loved one, you deserve compensation for these tragic, avoidable injuries. These cases can be complex, so save yourself the headache of dealing with insurance companies and government agencies and contact the experienced San Jose Train and Light Rail accident attorneys at Daneshrad Law, PC today. Alan Daneshrad and his team have spent years fighting for victims like you and standing up to government entities and big companies alike. Let us look out for your best interests and work to get you the compensation you deserve.
The Daneshrad Law team has ample knowledge, resources, and skills to deliver comprehensive representation that is aggressive towards wrongdoers but compassions towards you. You didn’t deserve to be injured by another’s bad behavior, and you don’t deserve to have your just compensation delayed excessively. We offer a free, no obligation initial case review, so call us today at (888) 881-3529 or (310) 858-8239, or you can contact us online. Let us review the facts of your situation, answer your questions, and start giving you the peace of mind you deserve so you can focus on your physical and emotional recovery.

Free Case Evaluation

Daneshrad Law, PC offers a free case evaluation so you can personally speak with a California personal injury attorney about your unique situation. Let us help you gain control over your legal issue today.

Contact an attorney at Daneshrad Law, PC today. Please fill out the form or give us a call at 888-881-DLAW.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    Still have unanswered questions? Check out our personal injury FAQ for more information.

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    How much is my personal injury case worth and will you guarantee success?

    The “value” of your case depends on many factors, such as the extent of your injury, the amount of your medical bills, and your condition after you have finished medical treatments. The calculation also factors in if you in any way contributed to or caused the incident. An attorney will never guarantee any outcome in your case; however, an experienced attorney can give you a fair assessment of the outcome of your case.

    How much does a personal injury attorney charge?

    Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis. Therefore your attorney will only get paid if you get paid. If no recovery is obtained there is no out of pocket cost from you. Most law firms work on a percentage based fee. They usually obtain 33.33% of your final award. Contingency-based cases are very beneficial because they provide access to the courts for those who can’t otherwise afford to pay attorneys fees and the costs of litigation. It also reduces frivolous lawsuits because attorneys will only litigate cases they think they will likely win.

    What should I do if I'm unsatisfied with my current personal injury attorney?

    If you are unhappy with your current attorney for any reason you have the option of changing your attorney. Once you obtain a new attorney he/she can handle the process of substituting out the previous attorney. Generally, it is a very simple process to do and there is no cost to you. However, your current attorney will likely need to split a portion of your award with your prior attorney according to the amount of work he/she has contributed to your claim prior to being substituted.