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Were you or someone you love hurt in a train accident?

If you were hurt at a railroad crossing, on a train, or while working for a railroad, you are in the right place.

Are you in an emergency right now?

  • Check yourself and others for injuries, breathing, and bleeding.
  • Call 911 if anyone is hurt or the area is not safe.
  • Move away from the tracks if you can do it safely.
  • Get medical care even if you feel fine. Impact injuries can appear later.
  • This page is for after you are safe.

This page covers train accident deadlines and what to do right now. We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

Train accidents are less common than car crashes, but they tend to be severe because of the size and speed of a train. Grade crossing accidents (where a road crosses train tracks) and trespassing incidents together account for over 95% of rail-related injuries and deaths (FRA safety data). The FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) and the NTSB both track and investigate serious rail accidents, and derailment and mainline accident rates have fallen significantly since 2005, though crossing accidents remain the biggest risk to the public (Association of American Railroads, citing FRA data).

Why train accident cases are tricky

What real train accident cases have paid

These are publicly reported results. They show how widely serious cases vary. They are examples only. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. No one can promise or predict what any case is worth, and many cases resolve for far less.

Talk to an advocate. You do not have to sort out FELA rules and railroad investigations alone.

When it goes wrong: a true story

In 2021, a fatal collision happened at a Wharton County, Texas railroad crossing that FRA data had identified as one of the most dangerous crossings in the railroad's entire North American system. The case went to trial and a jury returned a $22.45 million verdict against the railroad, now known as Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (PR Newswire).

The lesson is not that the driver did something wrong by using a public crossing. When a known danger sits unaddressed for years, families are left to fight for accountability after the fact, which is why acting quickly with the right support matters.

What to do in the first days

  1. Get your injuries documented by a doctor.
  2. Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.
  3. If you are a railroad worker, report the injury to your employer right away and ask for a copy of the injury report. Never sign a statement to a railroad claims agent without understanding it first, and never give a recorded statement to an insurance company, even your own, without talking to your advocate first.
  4. Photograph the crossing, signals, gates, and surroundings if you can safely do so. Conditions at a crossing can be changed or repaired quickly.
  5. Get names and contact information for any witnesses.
  6. Warning: don't wait! Your filing deadline is a trap. Railroad workers have a federal FELA deadline that is different from a typical state injury deadline, and passengers and others have deadlines that vary by state, so assuming the wrong clock applies can cost you the claim. Find your state on our state pages now.

What we can help with

All of it is free to you. We never take money from injured people.

Talk to an advocate. A train accident is overwhelming enough. Let us help you carry the rest.

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