Fire at Chicago Avenue Red Line El Stop

19 people were injured, including at least 5 in critical condition after a fire at the Chicago Avennue el stop on the Red Line on Father's Day.

Wrongful death lawsuit filed in CTA bus - pedestrian accident

A wrongful death suit against the CTA was filed last week in the Circuit Court of Cook County for the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a CTA bus on the Near West Side.  The lawsuit claims that the man was getting off the bus when it began moving forward, pulling him under the bus where he was run over and killed.

One thing that is important to understand about CTA bus accidents when you are a passenger is that the CTA is considered a common carrier as to the bus passengers.  Because of its status as a common carrier, the CTA has the legal obligation to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers.

The legal duty to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers exists until the passenger has gotten off the bus and reached a place of safety.  That will be an important issue in this case because the deceased man was apparently in the process of getting off the bus when he struck.  At some point, the court will have to make a determination as to whether he reached a place of safety before being struck.

One reason that you want to hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer in any case involving a CTA bus or el train accident is that a lawyer that knows what he is doing will know the distinction between when the CTA is a common carrier for its passengers and when it is not and will craft the investigation to develop facts which show that the CTA is a common carrier.

Falling railroad tie from CTA el tracks wrecks car

A Wrigleyville area man is trying to get his car fixed after a railroad tie fell off the CTA el tracks and crashed through the roof of his car.  It was a few days before he was notified of the damage, and now his car may be a total loss.

The more important question is how and why the railroad tie fell from the tracks.  We wrote a few weeks ago about bolts falling from the CTA el tracks, and now a railroad tie has also come loose.  Considering that the bolts and tie and what hold the rails in place that the el trains run on, this should be a serious safety concern for CTA management, which is of course now pre-occupied with negotiating with CTA's unionized employees.

Having unstable rails is a sure-fire formula for a CTA el train derailment.  The CTA has actually had a handful of train derailments over the last few years, none of which resulted in serious injury.  However, the CTA is just one major breakdown from having the a derailment on par with the CTA Blue Line derailment from a few years ago, and this time, it will not be passengers emerging from smoke filled tunnels, but train cars falling from the tracks to the street below.

The CTA is a common carrier and owes its passengers a duty to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers.  If the tracks that the trains run on are falling apart, it does not speak well of what the CTA is doing to meet that duty of care.

CTA el trains derail more frequently than those in other subway systems

Since January of 2005, CTA el trains have derailed 13 times.  The rate of CTA subway train derailments is higher than of the New York and Washington, DC subway systems combined.  Following each derailment, the root cause is examined by the National Transportation Safety Board, and they have to find a cause of the derailment.  For example, with regard to the 2006 Blue Line derailment, they found that poor maintenance was the root cause of the derailment.  That derailment left passengers in a situation where they had to exit cars into smoke-filled tunnels to try to find a place of safety.

A long history of neglect of maintenance has placed the CTA in a tough position as it faces tough budgetary times.  It has a legal obligation to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers, but lacks the resources to meet that legal obligation by making sure that the tracks are properly inspected and repaired as needed.

In the end, CTA el trains will continue to derail, and the CTA will continue to pay claims instead of paying for repairs.

Bolts dropping from CTA el tracks

There was a report of WBBM radio the other day about the discovery of large bolts underneath the CTA Green Line el tracks that run down Lake Street in Chicago.  When Channel 2 News brought this to the attention of the CTA, they confirmed that the bolts can from the el tracks running above.  They were unabel to say whether they had vibrated loose from the tracks or were simply left behind by workmen who failed to pick them up as required.

Of course, neither alternative is acceptable, as any material falling from the el tracks represents a serious safety hazard to people walking or driving below or next to the tracks. 

Even worse, the loose bolts represent a serious safety hazard to CTA Green Line riders.  If the bolts are intended to hold the tracks in place and are now gone, what is holding the track in place?  Going past this, the CTA has a team of track inspectors whose entire job is to make sure that the rails are in safe condition.  If the bolts are on the street and sidewalk below, what are these people actually doing?  Defects in the rails led to the Blue line el train derailment a few years ago, and the CTA promised to step up inspections in light of the accident.

This is a major safety hazard which demands the attention of the CTA.  If not fied, it will inevitably lead to claims against the Chicago Transit Authority.

Baby in stroller dragged by CTA el train

A young mother had a terrible scare last night on the north side of the City as she tried to board a CTA el train at the Morse el stop.  She was pushing her baby in its stroller onto the el train car when the doors closed.  The train pulled out of the station with the stroller trapped in inside.  It eventually fell off the side of the train car and onto the tracks.  Fortunately, the child was not seriously injured due to the CTA el train accident.

The CTA is a common carrier, and as such, owes a legal duty to its passengers to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers.  This duty runs from the time that they are boarding the train or bus up until the time that they reach a place of safety after getting off.  Given that the stroller was trapped inside the door, this child was owed that highest degree of care for her safety.

It is also pretty clear that the CTA violated that duty of care.  The train operator is responsible for making sure that the passengers are on the train before closing the doors and making sure that the doors are properly closed before putting the train into motion.  This obviously was not done here.  Also, the CTA at one time had conductors on every train who responsibilities included watching for passengers boarding and getting off the train.  Those positions were eliminated in budgetary cutbacks.  It obviously was possible to do the job of watching for passengers better than they did in this case.  In many ways, this accident was a product of the the budgetary choices made by the CTA.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, one thing that I would do immediately is to notify the CTA of the potential claim in order to make sure that all of the records or videotapes are preserved and retain experts to help observe any inspection or repairs of the el train car in order to help determine how that train was able to leave the station without the doors being securely closed.

Pedestrian hit and killed by CTA bus

A Chicago man was killed last night when he was hit by a No. 14 Jeffrey CTA bus on the 2000 block of East 95th Street.  The early news reports indicate that the bus was pulling away from a bus shelter when it struck and killed the man.  The bus driver claims that he was neither boarding or getting off the bus.  The Chicago Police Department Major Accident Investigation unit was still investigating.

There are a number of points that people should be aware of when a serious CTA bus accident occurs like this:

1.  Many CTA buses are equipped with a fairly elaborate video security system, and when a serious accident like this occurs, the recordings are preserved as a matter of course by the CTA claims department.  One thing that an experienced CTA bus accident lawyer will do is issue a letter to the CTA requesting that they preserve the security videotape.  That way, if the tape is later destroyed, the CTA nay be subject to court sanctions for the destruction of evidence.

2.  The issue of whether he was getting on or off the bus is an important issue in this case.  Operators of buses such as the CTA are considered common carriers with regard to their passengers, and the law imposes a responsibility on them to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of their passengers.  This duty goes from the time that they start boarding the bus until they reach a place of safety after getting off the bus.  Anytime the accident happens right around the bus (especially while the passenger is getting off the bus), the issue of whether the CTA still has the same obligations to the passenger as a common carrier can be crucial in determining the liability of the CTA.

3.  Regardless of whether the CTA is still considered a common carrier of the person who was hit by the bus, the CTA still owes a duty of ordinary care to behave safely toward the man who was hit, just as you would have a responsibility to not hit a pedestrian with your car.  To support a claim that the bus driver was negligent, one thing that would have to be considered is evidence of the CTA's own internal rules and regulations, which includes steps that the bus driver must take to prevent accidents with pedestrians or other vehicles.

This unfortunate accident was one which probably could have been prevented through ordinary safety precautions.  You can be sure that the CTA has done a thorough investigation of this accident, and gathered any evidence that will be favorable to them.  We recommend that anyone who is involved in this kind of accident hire experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers as soon as possible.

CTA bus crash on South Side

Chicago Fire Department personnel were called to the scene of a CTA bus crash this morning on the 2500 block of South Ashland.  Early news reports indicated that the bus hit a light pole.

The CTA is considered a common carrier under the law.  This means that it owes the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers.  Failing to exercise the highest degree of care is negligence and a fair basis for proceeding with a bus accident lawsuit against the CTA.  Almost any accident which resulted in the bus leaving the roadway and hitting a light pole would indicate that the CTA failed to exercise that high standard of care for the safety of its passengers.

As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, we have handled many cases involving claims and lawsuits against the CTA and stand ready to help any of the victims of this morning's bus accident.

Train accident analysis

In the wake of the recent Washington, DC commuter train collision, Popular Mechanics has come out with an article that lists ten lessons learned from various train accidents over the years.  One of the accidents was a CTA el train derailment where the cars came off the elevated tracks in the Loop.  The lesson learned from that was the train operators were not allowed to override signals without clearance from central control.

From the news stories coming out of the DC train derailment, it appears that the lesson to be learned from that equipment must be properly maintained and upgraded as needed to assure rider safety.  It sounds like an obvious principle, but apparently one that hard to be reinforced through tragedy.

Six month notice for cases against the CTA abolished

Governor Pat Quinn recently signed legislation abolishing the 6 month CTA notice requirement.  Before that victims of el train accidents or bus accidents with the CTA were required to file a detailed notice with the CTA within 6 months of the accident.  Failing to comply with the terms of the notice requirement was a grounds for dismissal of the lawsuit, and this resulted in the unfair dismissal of many bus accident and train accident cases against the CTA. 

For people injured on or after June 1, 2009, there is no longer a notice requirement, but they still must comply with the one year statute of limitations.  People injured before June 1, 2009 still must comply with the 6 month CTA notice requirement or risk the dismissal of their bus accident or train accident case against the CTA.

The CTA notice requirement had been an unfair barrier to recovery for many victims of el train accidents and bus accidents with the CTA.  Even as an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I was always concerned that some minor deficiency in the notice would result in the dismissal of my client's bus accident or el train accident case against the CTA.  The repeal of this unfair statute is an important step in holding the CTA accountable for injuries caused in bus accidents or el train accidents.

Bill proposes changes in CTA notice requirements

Legislation being proposed in Springfield may provide some welcome relief to persons involved in bus accidents with CTA buses or in train accidents on CTA el trains.

Under the current law, anyone injured in any kind of accident with the CTA must provide the CTA with a statutory notice within 6 months of the accident.  Any technical defect in the notice may be grounds for dismissing a lawsuit against the CTA.

The CTA is not under any obligation to advise potential claimants that there are defects in the notice provided to the CTA.  Rather, the CTA can lay in wait and then pounce on the defects in  the notice and have otherwise meritorious claims dismissed, even when the purpose of the notice is achieved -- providing the CTA with notice of the claim and adequate opportunity to investigate the claim.

The proposed legislation would require the CTA to advise potential claimants of defects in the notice.  Such a requirement would encourage people to provide the CTA with even earlier notice in order to take advantage of the opprtunity to cure any defect.  This would further serve the purpose of the notice requirement.

It remains to be seen whether this legislation wil pass or whether the General Assembly wil continue to provide the CTA with its unfair shield against meritorious cases.