Safety Becoming an Issue for CSX Transportation?
A CSX Transportation employee lost an arm when he was hit by a moving rail car while working on another train at Radnor Yard in Nashville, Tennessee during the August 21 solar eclipse.
After the accident, other employees frantically called for help and the dispatcher tried calling the tower but received no response, allegedly because the manager and yardmasters were outside watching the eclipse. The rail workers union blames the accident on railroad management, saying “crews were never given any instructions on having lights during the eclipse nor to stop operations for a few minutes during this dark period.”
New management at CSX has implemented major changes in the past year, trying to cut costs but still requiring trains to run on a tight schedule, and safety is no longer the railroad’s top priority, according to the union. As a result, injuries and derailments have increased, while employee morale has plummeted.
CSX Found Partially Liable in Georgia Civil Lawsuit
On July 17, a Savannah, Georgia jury awarded $3.9 million to the family of Sarah Jones, a camera assistant who was killed while filming a biopic about singer Greg Allman on a train trestle near Jesup, Georgia. The jury found CSX Transportation, the company that owns the trestle, civilly liable for Jones’ death after evidence showed that CSX knew that the film crew was present at the trestle that day but did nothing to prevent the crash.
In a somewhat surprising move, no-fault was apportioned to either the film crew or the production company, despite the fact that CSX had repeatedly denied permission for them to shoot there. The jury found that the railroad needed to take actual steps to prevent exposure to hazards, and a written denial was not sufficient.
If you’re a railroad employee who has been injured due to the negligence of your employer, contact the railroad injury attorneys at Murray & Murray online or call (419) 664-3711 today.
