Woman Files Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Father is Struck by Metra Train Headed to Chicago
In Cook County Circuit Court, the daughter of James O’Neill, the man who was hit by a Metra train while crossing the tracks is suing Metra, the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, and the Union Pacific Railroad Company for his wrongful death. Maura K. O’Neill says the train could have stopped and avoided hitting her father if it hadn’t been speeding because it was running late.
The fatal train accident occurred on the morning of December 26, 2008, close to the Edison Park station. Union Pacific Northwest Line train No. 610, which was headed to South Chicago, was not scheduled to stop at this station. It was traveling at the full speed of 50-70 mph when it struck Mr. O’Neill, who was walking on a pedestrian crossing. He was pronounced dead about four hours later.
Maura O’Neill claims that the train conductor should have warned O’Neill that the train was moving at full speed. She also says that train workers neglected to properly look out for pedestrians who may have been on the train tracks, did not take extra steps to make sure there weren’t people around since it was running behind schedule, failed to activate the train's emergency brakes, and was traveling at a very fast speed even as it approached the crossing. Her Illinois wrongful death lawsuit seeks over $50,000 in damages.
Pedestrians and bicyclists who are struck by a train are often killed or left with serious, life altering personal injuries. While people crossing the tracks are supposed to be careful and take steps to avoid getting involved in a train accident, there are times when the railroad company, train operator, a railroad worker, or the train manufacturer could have done more to prevent the accident from happening.
Depending on the circumstances that leading up to a pedestrian accident, some examples of grounds for train accident lawsuits include:
• Failure to sound the train’s whistle
• Speeding
• Poorly trained or supervised train workers
• Poor train maintenance
Daughter of Man Killed by Metra Train Files Suit, WBBM, January 10, 2009
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