Train accidents are not as common as car accidents. But when they do occur, the damage is often very serious. And even while new safety measures continue to be put in place, train fatalities have actually increased overall from 2013 to 2016, and Illinois\u2019 accident rate has often been at the top of the list.<\/p>\n
According to the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis, 64 people were killed in train accidents in 2015. And so far, already 53 people have been killed in 2016, and another 562 people have been injured. There was a 17 percent increase in train accident and incident fatalities from 2013 to 2016\u2014and only based on the numbers for this year so far. Amtrak, a large private train company, has recorded six fatalities in Amtrak incidents so far in 2016.<\/p>\n
In Illinois, already 49 people have been injured in train accidents this year, and three have been killed. There were 22 train accidents in Illinois in 2015, the highest of any state that year. There were 23 the previous year, which was again the highest in the nation. Train accidents often give rise to negligence claims. Even if the victim was partly responsible for causing the crash, he or she still may be able to receive damages, based on the degree of fault assigned to each of the parties.<\/p>\n