A dramatic scene unfolded just outside Elgin, Illinois (IL), when 18 rail cars from a Canadian National freight train derailed and caught fire at about 5 am at a railroad connection that is shared with Milwaukee West Metra. The accident occurred at the intersection of Lambert Lane and Spaulding Road and required a hazmat response. No injuries were immediately reported.

As experienced Virginia (VA) railroad accident lawyers, my colleagues and I know that trains derail more often than is commonly believed. In many cases workers and passengers are injured, often seriously. To cite just one example of this, our law firm represented a gas station attendant who suffered a brain injury and other orthopedic injuries when a Norfolk Southern train derailed and rammed the building in which he was working. We helped the man settle his case for $60 million.

This video shows how dangerous a derailment can be:

We have also reported on massive explosions and chemical spills caused by derailments. More than six years ago a Norfolk Southern chemical tanker train car derailed and released deadly chlorine in Graniteville, South Carolina (SC). Nine residents lost their lives and more than 250 rail employees were hurt. We represented some of the victim.

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About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is an injury law firm whose attorneys have long histories of representing railroad workers in FELA and other railroad injury cases.  Attorneys will our firm have served as chairmen of the Railroad section of the American Association for Justice. One of our attorneys wrote a major attorney’s encyclopedia section on railroad safety litigation. Check out our railroad injury case results to see for yourself. Our offices are in Virginia Beach and Hampton, Virginia (VA), and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC, and have handled hundreds of railroad injury and FELA cases throughout the eastern United States. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, such as Dos and Don’ts When Injured at a Railroad — Yours FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Won’t Tell You (But You Must Know). We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at (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. Further, our lawyers proudly moderate the Yardlimits Railroad Community Forum and donate to the Fallen Brother Fund.