Metrolink Train, Union Pacific Freight Collide South Of 118 Freeway


LOS ANGELES -- The crash involved a Metrolink passenger train and a freight train Friday afternoon near Chatsworth. Thirty or forty people were injured and ten to fifteen were killed. The passenger car was lying on its side with the Metrolink engine shoved inside. It took hours to free the passengers. There was triage set up at the accident site where paramedics and firefighters were treating victims on site. It was a desperately chaotic scene with injured milling about, or sitting on the ground, and the rest in triage.

Some passengers said it was not known if they hit the train or were hit; others said the Metrolink train appeared to crash into the rear of the slower-moving freight train. The fact that the Metrolink train was being pulled by its locomotive rather than being pushed is controversial due to claims that it makes trains more vulnerable. The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating; and the Federal Railroad Administration will conduct a review looking for federal rail safety regulation violations.

The track forms a "U" about 2,500 feet wide at the crash site. The passenger car was a Bombardier BiLevel coach--a double-decker car about 16 feet high and 10 feet wide and seatubg up to 160 passengers

Injury and Tort Law


Injury and wrongful death cases run the gamut.

Personal injury law is also known as tort law. A tort is described as "a civil wrong or wrongful act, whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another. Torts include all negligence cases as well as intentional wrongs which result in harm." Torts fall under three categories: Intentional torts - purposely inflicting injury; Negligent torts - causing an accident that results in injury; and Strict liability torts - manufacturing, marketing or selling defective products that result in injury. The most common grounds for a civil lawsuit involve negligence. These include motor vehicle accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, swimming and diving accidents, boating accidents and premises liability (slip and fall) accidents. When an accident occurs due to negligence, the injured party may file a claim against the negligent party to recover all their damages. Damages generally include current and future medical expenses, property damage, pain and suffering, current and future loss of income, loss of enjoyment and in certain cases, punitive damages. In order to prove negligence, you must support your claim with negligence, causation and damages.
  • Negligence - The other party was negligent.
  • Causation - Their negligence caused the accident.
  • Damages - You suffered damages as a result of the accident.
Personal Injury Practice Areas
  • Auto Accidents
  • Bicycle Accidents
  • Birth Injury
  • Brain Injury
  • Bus Accidents
  • Construction Accidents/Injuries
  • Dangerous Roads
  • Dog Bites
  • Food borne Illness
  • Pedestrian Accidents
  • Railroad Accidents
  • Spinal Cord
  • SUV Accidents
  • Swimming Pool Accidents
  • Trucking Accidents
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