Railway workers broadly fall into two categories: those working for a network such as ScotRail (and other operators who run trains into and out of Scotland) and Network Rail employees who work in and on the railway infrastructure; at stations and on the maintenance of tracks, overhead power lines, tunnels and bridges etc.
Thankfully, major railway accidents such as train collisions and derailments happen relatively rarely, but when they do they often result in serious and catastrophic injuries and even fatality.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a railway accident, Talk to Thompsons today to see if we could help you make a railway accident claim for compensation.
Who will you make your claim against?
Railway accident claims are often complex as you may need to make your claim against one, two or more defenders.
As an employee of a network operator, if you are injured while working onboard a train as a result of unsafe rolling stock; perhaps you tripped on a piece of broken flooring which has not been fixed properly, you would almost certainly bring your claim against the network operator. However, if an accident occurs while you are on board a train and the incident was a result of a faulty track, liability might be apportioned to Network Rail.
Likewise, as a Network Rail employee, if your personal injuries are caused as a result of an incident at a station or on railway infrastructure, your employer is likely to be the main defender. However, if the incident was as a result of a faulty train or because of the negligence of a train operator's employee, then the train operator could possibly be deemed liable.
Railway accident claims are not always straightforward and it is vital that you seek the assistance of a personal injury solicitor who has experience working on these claims and dealing with train companies as defenders.
Railway accident claim specialists at Thompsons
The work accident claim solicitors at Thompsons can help you if you have been injured at work on the railways.
We have represented various railway employees in their claims, including:
- An employee who suffered a soft tissue injury in a staffroom accident at Edinburgh's Waverley Station.
- An injured train driver who slipped on black ice at Perth station and became wedged between the train and the platform.
- An employee of Abellio Scotrail who suffered a back injury at work during a night shift.
- Some of those involved in the 2012 accident on the Glasgow-Oban line in which a train carrying 66 passengers and three crew struck a landslip.
Talk to Thompsons to make your railway accident claim
If you have been injured in a railway accident while working for a rail company, our solicitors in Scotland can provide the personal injury claim service that you need.
If you have been injured as a rail passenger, we can also help.
Call us on 0800 0891 331 to discuss making a railway accident compensation claim. You can also fill in our online claim form and we will call you back.
