By Rick Shapiro, Railroad Accident/FELA Lawyer
Jeff Garrard and Sung Oh were working away early Tuesday morning (around 1:45am) installing automatic train control equipment on a track that was closed to regular service when they were hit by a maintenance truck near the Rockville Metro Station. One of them died at the scene and the other died while being transported to a hospital, according to the Washington Post.
My condolences go out to Mr. Garrard and Mr. Oh’s friends and family. This is a tragic accident that looks like it could have been prevented. Where are the increased safety steps that Metro promised last year?
It’s been a very bad year or two for Metro rail in terms of safety. The worst accident in Metro history occurred in June where nine people were killed and over 60 people were seriously injured. Another Metro accident occurred in November when three workers were injured after a Metro train collided with a parked train . In addition, two workers were killed in separate industrial accidents last year. Most recently, in December, a team of inspectors was almost hit by a train that was traveling too fast.
The sheer number of deaths, injuries and close calls indicates major flaws in Metro safety protocols. Something dramatic needs to be done to correct the problem. Far too many people – both passengers and Metro workers – are dying needlessly.
So what can be done about this? Well, Jim Graham, the chairman of Metro board, suggested the federal government introduce federal safety guidelines that need to be adhered to (there are no such guidelines in place at this time). The Obama administration appears to have heeded the request and asked Congress to give the Federal Transit Administration authority to impose safety standards on subways, light rail and other urban train systems, according to the Post article.
Another suggestion is for “active warnings” such as lighted alerts throughout the Metro track to provide a warning of an oncoming train. This would be a stop-gap safety measure until an automatic (positive) train control system is fully installed. Having flashing lights activated to alert workers of an oncoming train could help prevent such accidents that just took the lives of two Metro workers.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is an injury law firm with a long history of representing hundreds of railroad workers in FELA/ railroad injury cases. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Our offices are in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our lawyers hold licenses in VA, NC, SC, WV, KY and DC and have handled railroad injury and FELA cases throughout the eastern U.S. We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, including Do’s and Don’ts When Injured at a Railroad – The Railroad Worker’s FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Won’t Tell You (But You Must Know). We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042 before giving any statement or talking to a railroad claims agent. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.
