Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Is Potentially Liable For Negligence in Operation of its Trains

Visit the Metro Victim FAQ Page "What Every Passenger Needs To Know About Litigation Against the WMATA" to Understand Your Legal Rights.

 The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has released the following information on the tragic Metrorail commuter train crash on its Red Line.

• METRO train derails in Washington at the Farragut North Station on February 12, 2010 -  This is the second subway train derailment in less than a year.  The Red Line train derailed when the front wheels of the lead car came off the track.  Traverse Legal, PLC is representing clients from this accident. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

• Two Red Line Trains Collide, Six Fatalities - Customers should avoid the Metro Red Line Monday and Tuesday: Two six-car Red Line metro trains collided at 5 p.m. today, Monday, June 22, resulting in six (now believed to be 9) fatalities, including a female train operator. There were also several injuries, many serious, according reports from the scene. This is the deadliest accident in Washington Metrorail’s 33-year history.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro) is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and funded by the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. Metro is NOT insured, but is self-insured, paying claims from its own revenue and fund.  If you or a family member were injured in an accident on a Metro rapid transit train, the WMATA can be held liable under negligence law. Lawsuits are being prepared against DC Metro and other responsible parties.

This is not the first accident regarding the WMATA train system. 

• Safety Procedures Not Followed, NTSB Says Investigators Find WMATA Transit Agency Lacks Rules to Protect and Inform Workers
• NTSB: Washington Metro’s culture deadly - A workplace culture that valued speed over safety contributed to two Metro train accidents that killed three employees in 2006, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday in a meeting that laid bare the glaring flaws in the transit agency’s safety procedures.

Comments

[Injuries Board Ireland]

For the vast majority of victims, the personal injury system is the same as before the Injuries Board was set up, but now there is an added layer of bureaucracy to deal with, which often delays the process.