Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman changed its name to Wisner Baum in January 2023.

Train Accident

Nationwide Train Accident Lawyers

Train Accident Lawyers with Extensive High-Level Experience

For decades, Wisner Baum has successfully represented railroad and train accident victims in some of the worst train crashes and derailments in our history. Based in Los Angeles, our train accident attorneys have handled the litigation for more than 85 passengers in train-related personal injury or wrongful death cases across the United States. These cases have included train derailments, train collisions, train accidents at-grade-crossings, FELA-railroad employee injury claims, and incidents involving Amtrak, Conrail, MARC and Metrolink.

Train accident victims or their families hire our firm because of our extensive high-level experience handling train accident litigation and other forms of commercial transportation liability. Wisner Baum concentrates its practice on wrongful death and serious personal injury commercial transportation cases throughout the United States. Our firm is listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, Top Ranked Law Firms™, U.S. News & World Report Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms and in Martindale Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

Contact us at (855) 948-5098 if you or a loved one was seriously injured or killed in a train wreck. We take cases nationwide.

Our Train Accident Investigation Process

In all accidents involving trains, it is vital that prompt measures be taken by mass disaster accident attorneys to perform a proper accident and train investigation. At Wisner Baum, we use comprehensive programs to ensure no stone is left unturned. It is our job to obtain best possible results for our clients by using effective train investigation, litigation, and resolution strategies.

Among the many steps we take to precisely prepare a train investigation and litigate a train accident case:

  • Preserve all evidence throughout the train investigation
  • Obtain reports of local governmental agencies
  • Photograph scene, cars, undamaged equipment
  • Obtain scale models of equipment
  • Survey track area
  • Obtain the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report
  • Obtain the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and any other government agency reports
  • Obtain witness statements
  • Acquire coroner reports and records
  • Obtain the black box data if the train was equipped with an ECM (Electronic Control Module)
  • Obtain the defendants’ safety record
  • Get the full background and history on the conductor, rail switch operators, etc.
  • Secure a train accident reconstruction expert
  • Communicate with prosecuting attorney if any criminal proceedings are involved
  • Determine the best legal venue determined by substantive law and choice of law issues
  • Identify any governmental entities involved
  • Prepare and file claim forms against governmental entities, if necessary
  • Prepare and file the lawsuit

Our Past Experience in Train Accident Cases

Leading Litigators in the Glendale Metrolink Train Tragedy

Senior Partner, Paul J. Hedlund, who is also a mechanical engineer, testified about passenger car crashworthiness and the dangers of pushing passenger trains at the state hearing conducted by the California State Assembly, looking into the causes of the Glendale Metrolink train tragedy. It was our law firm’s opinion that the “pushing” of passenger cars was likely responsible for the deaths and injuries which resulted from the southbound Metrolink train’s collision with the Jeep left on the tracks. As deranged as the action of parking a vehicle on the railroad tracks was, Metrolink’s unsafe procedure led to the tragic consequences in this case.

Paul Hedlund also testified before the State Assembly hearing on California commuter rail safety as a result of the Metrolink derailment. He showed two independently produced train crash test videos exposing the vulnerability of cab cars. The videos stunned the Committee members when it revealed the cab car with shock absorbers suffered very little damage compared to the cab car without. Mr. Hedlund also discussed push versus pull in general terms and the inherent dangers in pushing passenger cars with a locomotive and why pulling passenger cars with a locomotive is safer.

In December of 2005, almost a year after the Metrolink derailment, and after months of public pressure, Metrolink finally announced that it would install shock absorbers on their trains. On several occasions our firm organized meetings for our clients to personally meet with the state assemblyman and his transportation staff spearheading the push-pull ban legislation. We also organized our clients to meet with the U.S. Representative for the district where the crash occurred, seeking his involvement in improving passenger rail safety in the state of California.

Baum Hedlund Organizes March on State Capitol to Rally Support for Bill

Several of our clients and the firm’s public relations director joined Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer (Glendale) at the Burbank airport for a press conference just before taking off for Sacramento. After landing, the Wisner Baum group spent the rest of that day and the next day lobbying 12 of the 13 senators who sit on the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, to vote yes on the Assembly bill that would ban the pushing of trains.

Our Clients Testify Before the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee

Three of our Metrolink crash clients testified before the California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee in favor of the Assembly bill that, if passed, would ban the pushing of passengers in California and make passenger trains safer. Each one of these victims, a widow and two severely injured passengers, offered excellent testimony, and made it very clear that if their Metrolink train was being pulled that tragic morning, rather than being pushed, the injured would have walked away with much less severe, if any injuries, and no one would have died.

Representing Victims in the 1993 Amtrak Sunset Limited Crash

The crash remained Amtrak’s worst until September 22, 1993, when 47 passengers and crew died when Amtrak’s Sunset Limited plunged off a bridge into a muddy bayou near Saraland, Alabama. Our firm represented 22 victims from this train derailment which was initiated by the mishandling of a barge that struck the bridge just before the wreck.

Maryland was again, the site of a fatal Amtrak crash on February 16, 1996, when 12 people were killed when one of the company’s passenger trains, the Capitol Limited, smashed into a MARC Maryland Rail Commuter train in Silver Spring. We represented six families in the MARC train crash that also involved a locomotive engine pushing the passenger cars ahead of it.

Taking on the 1987 Conrail Train Collision in Chase

The firm handled its very first train disaster in 1987. This was the case of the Amtrak – Conrail train collision in Chase, Maryland on January 4, 1987. In that incident, an Amtrak train, carrying 600 people, on its way to Boston from Washington, D.C., crashed into a set of Conrail freight locomotives bound for Pennsylvania. At the time of the collision it was reported the Amtrak train was traveling at an estimated speed of 108 mph. Train cars were stacked three high from the force of the impact.

The collision caused the deaths of 16 people, including the Amtrak engineer, and 175 people were also injured, making it, at that time, Amtrak’s deadliest wreck in its history.

Our clients suggested to the committee, the many changes needed to make passenger trains safer. Some of their proposals included banning pushing of trains, installing automatic gates at all rail crossings, installing sensors, radar and/or cameras to warn of obstructions, train turnarounds, passenger car crashworthiness improvements, seat belts, better rail disaster training and alerting of passengers before a crash.

Contact our train accident attorneys at (855) 948-5098.

Dedicated Advocates for Train Safety Nationwide

We believe that being a safety advocate is very much a part of our firm’s purpose, and efforts have been made by the firm’s mass disaster attorneys to not only represent their clients in getting them full and just compensation, but to become advocates for train safety. Our train safety advocacy work is best exemplified by our extensive work in the community specifically regarding the extreme risk in the push-pull passenger rail system. Inspired by the families of those killed in the Glendale Metrolink crash, we became deeply involved in working with the state legislature to get the law changed to ban the pushing of passenger trains, starting with the State of California.

Here are a few reasons to consider hiring our experienced train safety advocates and train accident lawyers at Wisner Baum:

  • Over $4 billion won firm-wide
  • Extensive high-level experience
  • Handling train accidents since 1987
  • Voted “Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms” by our clients and peers
  • Successfully resolved over 85 train crash or derailment cases
  • Major honors and national recognition for our achievements
  • Appointed to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees for Metrolink Glendale and Chatsworth

If you or a loved one have been a victim of a train accident, contact Wisner Baumat (855) 948-5098 or submit our online contact form today for a free consultation.

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  • Fatal Train Crash $265 Million
  • Fatal Train Crash $3.5 Million
  • Wrongful Death $2.8 Million
  • Fatal Train Crash $2 Million
  • Best Law Firms 2023
    Best Law Firms 2023

    A ranking in The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” is widely regarded by both client and legal professionals as a significant honor. It is considered the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.

  • The Truck Safety Coalition
    The Truck Safety Coalition

    Wisner Baum is proud to be a sponsor of The Truck Safety Coalition, a a group of caring individuals dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes. Our support enables them to help families and save lives.

  • California Powerhouse
    California Powerhouse

    Law360 recognizes law firms that have a strong regional presence, working on important matters within their home state. “[Wisner Baum] possesses a David v. Goliath-sized slingshot while seeking justice for everyday citizens it believes were harmed or killed through corporate wrongdoing.”

  • Elite Trial Lawyers
    Elite Trial Lawyers

    NLJ and American Lawyer Media honor law firms and attorneys as Elite Trial Lawyers for their cutting-edge legal work on behalf of plaintiffs in practice areas ranging from mass torts to securities litigation.

  • Listed in Best Lawyers
    Listed in Best Lawyers

    Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.

  • AV Top Ranked Law Firm
    AV Top Ranked Law Firm

    Less than one-half of one percent of firms across the nation have achieved this ranking. A firm must have a high percentage of lawyers who have achieved the prestigious AV® Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell®.

  • Verdicts Hall of Fame
    Verdicts Hall of Fame

    The National Law Journal inducted Wisner Baum into the Verdicts Hall of Fame for obtaining the $2 billion landmark verdict in the Roundup cancer case of Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto. The verdict was #1 in California and #2 in the U.S. in 2019 and is #9 in American history.

  • Super Lawyers
    Super Lawyers

    Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

  • National Trial Lawyers Top 100
    National Trial Lawyers Top 100

    The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 recognized the law firms of Wisner Baum, the Miller Firm and Audet & Partners with the 2019 Trial Team of the Year award (in the Mass Torts category) for their work in the groundbreaking case of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto Company.

  • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
    AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated

    An AV® rating reflects an attorney who has reached the heights of professional excellence. The rating signifies the highest legal ability, and very high adherence to professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability, and diligence.

  • Avvo 10.0 Rating
    Avvo 10.0 Rating

    Wisner Baum is proud to have all of its lawyers listed in Avvo, a legal directory connecting people in need of legal services with lawyers and connecting lawyers to lawyers. Eight of our attorneys have earned a 10.0 perfect rating with Avvo.

  • Top Jury Verdict in <br> CA and USA
    Top Jury Verdict in
    CA and USA

    TopVerdict.com ranks our $2 billion verdict in Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto as the biggest verdict in California and the second largest verdict in the U.S. in 2019. It is the ninth largest verdict in U.S. history.

  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
    Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers

    Published annually, the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list recognizes the “best of the best” in this area of the law through nominations, research, and review by a board of their peers.

  • Product Liability Practice Group of the Year
    Product Liability Practice Group of the Year

    In 2020, Law360 honored the law firms ”behind the litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry.” It recognized our success in several landmark cases.

  • Top Personal Injury Jury Verdict in California
    Top Personal Injury Jury Verdict in California

    In 2018, our $289 million Johnson v. Monsanto verdict was the largest personal injury verdict in California. TopVerdict.com also ranked it #2 among all verdicts in California and #10 in the nation.

  • Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
    Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers

    The Bar Register is the definitive guide to the most distinguished law firms in America. It includes only those select law practices that have earned the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and have been designated by their colleagues as preeminent in their field.

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Firm Reviews

What Our Clients Are Saying
  • I Can’t Imagine a Better Law Firm

    “Multiple lawyers recommended Wisner Baum to me and I have been consistently impressed with the quality of their work.”

    - Best Law Firms Survey
  • They Are About Changing the Systems...

    “Wisner Baum are not only amazing attorneys but more importantly, they are activists. They are about changing the systems which got us into trouble in the first place. They understand their role in the process of making change.”

    - Kim Witczak
  • Top Legal Minds in the Country

    “The Wisner Baum firm has some of the top legal minds in the country; they are driven, determined, trustworthy, ethical and passionate.”

    - From Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms
  • Diligent & Professional Representation

    “Thanks to your efforts I was able to recover from a tragic experience and turn my life around for the best.”

    - W.T.
  • Our Best Interest Was Always Number One on Your List

    “A special thank you to your Spanish-speaking staff for the extra effort put into this case. The language barrier was never a problem, and we are so very thankful to them. Your name holds much respect in our family.”

    - G.C. & C.C
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