Train Accident Lawsuits

Can you sue after a train accident?

Yes. A train accident lawsuit is a personal injury claim brought against the party whose negligence caused your harm. Depending on what happened, that could be a railroad company, a public transit authority, an equipment manufacturer, a maintenance contractor, or the driver of a car struck at a crossing. The core question is the same as in any injury case: who had a duty to keep you safe, how did they breach it, and what injuries did that cause?

Train cases tend to be more complex than ordinary car crashes because the defendant is often a large organization with its own investigators, and because federal railroad safety rules and state transit law can both come into play. That complexity is exactly why these claims are usually handled by attorneys who litigate against railroads and transit agencies regularly.

Who can be held liable?

Liability depends on the cause of the crash. Common defendants in train cases include:

• Transit and railroad operators — for operator error, excessive speed, failure to maintain tracks or signals, or inadequate safety systems. In the New York City area this often means the MTA, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North, or Amtrak.
• Other motorists — in grade-crossing collisions where a driver ignored signals or got stuck on the tracks.
• Maintenance and construction contractors — for defective repairs, debris, or unsafe work near the tracks.
• Equipment manufacturers — when a defective brake, door, or signal component contributed to the crash.

More than one party can share fault. New York follows comparative negligence under CPLR §1411, so even if you were partly at fault, you can still recover — your award is simply reduced by your share of responsibility.

What deadline applies in New York?

This is the part that trips people up. If your claim is against a public transit agency such as the MTA or one of its subsidiaries, you generally must serve a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident under GML §50-e, and then file suit within roughly one year and 90 days under GML §50-i. Miss the 90-day notice and your case can be barred before it starts.

For claims against private parties — another driver, a contractor, a manufacturer — the standard New York deadline is three years from the date of the accident under CPLR §214. If a train accident caused a death, a wrongful death claim must generally be brought within two years under EPTL §5-4.1. Because a single crash can involve both public and private defendants with different clocks, it is worth confirming the deadlines early.

What is a train accident claim worth?

There is no fixed number, and any honest attorney will tell you outcomes vary case by case. Instead of a dollar figure, look at the factors that drive value: the severity and permanence of your injuries, your medical bills (past and future), lost income and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, the strength of the liability evidence, and the available insurance or agency coverage. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes, and no one can promise a specific recovery at the outset.

What to do next

Get medical care and keep records, note the train line and time, photograph the scene if you safely can, and identify witnesses. Then speak with an attorney quickly — the 90-day public-entity deadline leaves little room to wait. Banville Law is a New York personal injury firm; if your case is a fit, we can connect you with experienced trial counsel to evaluate it.

Frequently asked questions