The family of a 60-year-old Oklahoma truck driver who\ndied in 2013 when a train smashed into his rig at a non-gated railroad crossing\nas he was loading a trackhoe onto a trailer has been awarded a $9 million jury\nverdict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The victim, Richard Knight, of Edmond, Oklahoma, was\nkilled on May 8, 2013, when a BNSF Railway train operating on a track near U.S.\nHighway 64 in the town of Lela smashed\ninto the truck<\/a> at about 44 mph, according to a May 2 story in The Oklahoman<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knight was picking up the trackhoe after it was used\nto demolish a building at the crossing that was blocking sightlines at the\ncrossing, the story reported. Eight previous train crashes had occurred at the\nsite of the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attorneys for Knight’s family argued that the railroad\nknew that safety and sightline problems existed at the crossing before the\nfatal crash but that railroad officials did nothing to fix the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The railroad\ncrossing only had stationary railroad crossing “crossbuck” signs, but\nlacked lights, bells or arms to prevent vehicles from crossing when a train was\npresent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The demolished building was owned by the railroad, but\nwas on land leased from Morrison Grain, according to the story. Instead of\ntaking the structure down with its own workers, the railroad required Morrison\nGrain to remove the structure through a provision in the lease for the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nproblem with that approach, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs, was that it circumvented the railroad’s own safety\nrules because it allowed the railroad to avoid placing an employee at the\ndemolition site, the story reported. “If the railroad had done the work\nand had an on-site construction manager, the railroad\u2019s rules would have\nrequired operators of passing trains to communicate with that employee and to\npass through the construction zone at reduced speeds,” which could have\nprevented the tragedy, the story continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The jury\nruled that the railroad was 70% responsible for the fatal crash and that Knight\nwas 30% responsible, the story reported. The family was awarded 70% of the $9\nmillion verdict, or $6.3 million, in compensatory damages. The jury ruled that the\nrailroad had recklessly disregarded safety involving a dangerous road-rail\nintersection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Legal\ncases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of\nsimilar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> attorneys\nregularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to\ndiscuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality\nrequirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one\nto illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\nneed a car accident injury attorney<\/a>, we here at MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> stand ready\nto assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously\ninjured in any kind of car crash, slip and fall, workplace injury or\nwrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to\nmake sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and\nexperienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a\nprofessional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your\ncase and maximize your damage award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nrepresent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure\nthat their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to\nreceive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk to a\nPhiladelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer<\/em><\/a> by calling 215-227-2727 or toll-free\nat 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate,\naggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your\nfamily every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n