Wrongful Death, Railroad Pedestrian Crossing Safety

Atlee Hall represented the family of a teenager killed by a train at a pedestrian crossing that lacked adequate safety measures, and through this litigation helped secure the permanent closure of the dangerous crossing.

We represented the family of a teenager killed by a train at a pedestrian crossing that lacked adequate safety measures. The case required navigating complex issues of federal preemption while coordinating experts in accident reconstruction, human factors, and audiology to establish how the crossing was dangerously deficient.

Why This Case Matters

Railroad crossings are held to safety standards designed to protect the pedestrians who use them every day. When a crossing lacks adequate warning systems or safety measures, it becomes a foreseeable hazard, particularly for children and teenagers navigating it on foot.

This case required overcoming significant legal hurdles, including federal preemption defenses that railroads frequently raise to limit their liability for crossing safety. Successfully navigating those issues was essential to holding the responsible parties accountable and to achieving a lasting safety improvement for the community.

How We Built A Winning Case

Investigate

Our client’s family came to Atlee Hall after losing their teenager in a preventable train accident at a pedestrian crossing. Our attorneys investigated the crossing’s design, warning systems, and safety history, and researched the federal regulations governing crossing safety to identify how preemption issues would need to be addressed.

We retained accident reconstruction, human factors, and audiology experts to evaluate how the crossing’s deficiencies contributed to the fatal accident.

Analyze

Our investigation and expert review established how the crossing’s inadequate safety measures created a foreseeable danger for pedestrians. Our human factors and audiology experts evaluated whether the crossing’s warning systems gave pedestrians adequate notice of an approaching train, while our accident reconstruction expert established how the collision occurred.

Synthesize

We built the evidence into a case demonstrating that the crossing’s deficiencies, not just the immediate circumstances of the accident, were responsible for this teenager’s death. By addressing the federal preemption issues directly and presenting clear expert testimony on the crossing’s dangers, we showed how this tragedy could have been prevented.

The Result

Atlee Hall secured a confidential settlement for the victim's family.

As a result of this litigation, the crossing was permanently closed and replaced with a pedestrian overpass, making the community measurably safer, especially for the children who use it every day.

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