The most important thing if you have been involved in a train collision and have been injured is to get appropriate medical help at a hospital or doctor’s office as soon as possible. As I saw the news and watched the “walking wounded” wandering around the scene of the Metro train wreck, I knew that there would be people who are in fact injured beyond the 75 reported in the media. I knew this because I have worked on prior commuter disasters including the one in Silver Spring, Maryland where a MARC train struck an Amtrak train causing a derailment.
Some people are just so shook up and dazed from the surreal experience of being on a train that has gone off the tracks that they don’t even realize that they are hurt. The victims may think, “Well, I was thrown out of my seat and hit my head, but it isn’t that big a deal,” and not go get proper medical assistance. I’m sure that the hospitals in the D.C. area including Washington Hospital Center and Howard University Hospital were a mob scene. However, it’s critical to go and document your injuries. If you fail to do this, the biggest risk is that you may have a serious injury that goes undiagnosed. Also, if you later realize that you need to make a claim against the Metro rail system and their insurers, they will fight you if they can say you must not have been so hurt or you would have gone and gotten medical help.
About the Editors: Shapiro & Appleton& Duffan personal My injury lawfirm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.