In late July 2015, Oklahoma City residents and personal injury attorneys were reminded that train accidents remain a reality in many American cities. As a matter of fact, the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis’ recent 10-year look back shows our country averages more than 11,000 of them every year. And 2015 isn’t expected to be much better.

As of this month, more than 780 train accidents have already occurred this year, with a number of them taking place across the State of Oklahoma. Naturally, many of those train accidents resulted in deaths, property damage and catastrophic injuries for the people involved in them. In others, some train passengers were able to walk away with minor lacerations and bruises.

So what continues to fuel the large number of train accidents each year? Personal injury attorneys often discover that it’s the negligence of railroad employees and management. For example, perhaps the conductor was texting, sleeping or talking on a cell phone when the train accident occurred. Or, maybe the train tracks were not maintained properly, leading to a derailment or collision.

Anything is possible, so train accident victims shouldn’t just assume that they have no recourse after a catastrophic event. Instead, they should each hire a personal injury attorney and have the train accident investigated by a private agency. While it is true that both the Federal Railroad Association and National Transportation Safety Board conduct post-accident investigations, it never hurts to have an extra pair of independent eyes going over the evidence too.

If the train accident investigation reveals railway employees or management were likely to blame, personal injury attorneys can then work on helping victims receive reparations. To find out if a train accident was caused by the negligence of others and what may be done about it, please contact us in Oklahoma City. At the Parrish DeVaughn Law Firm, we speak for the injured and fight tirelessly to protect their rights.