Eastern Railroad Discussion > Follow Up Story from WVA Derailment

This on the WSAZ web site.

The man's house, belongings and life possessions are gone, yet here is his take: "Bounds says he's glad the accident happened where it did and not farther up the tracks, where more people could've been hurt."

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Man-Whose-Home-was-Destroyed-in-Train-Accident-Shares-Story--292315191.html

CG Tower

I just read in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where the engineer and conductor were able to decouple the locomotive from the train and walk away. DECOUPLE? Come-on man!

So, on a frigid, wet day, what sparked the initial fire? Were the sparks from scraping metal as the train derailed enough to ignite the oil? Not being a industry expert, it seems to me that oil should need something more intense to initially ignite.

CSX has publicly stated the man will be reimbursed for everything he lost ... he or anybody else in his kind of situation that accepts ANY compensation will have to sign a waiver of lawsuit ... railroads and companies that find themselves totally responsible for damages rush their representatives out to people like this homeowner in an effort to make a quick settlement ... what people don't realize is that accepting compensation in a situation like this homeowner forfeits their right to any future lawsuit for damages and is a fool to accept such compensation especially when there's a total loss with injuries as was the case with this homeowner but you'd be surprised how many boneheads don't retain a lawyer or at least consult one for advice ...

Posted from Android

So, making him whole is not good enough? How much more than whole should he be made?

In cases of injury or death, monetary issues are much less clear, but in a case with a supposed minor injury, property destruction and some compensation for the inconvenience and additional expenses associated with acquiring a new home and property, I don't see the issue here. If he lived in a dump and had crappy furniture, he may be better off with all of the new stuff CSX will buy him. How much more greedy should he and the lawyers be?

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, on a frigid, wet day, what sparked the initial
> fire? Were the sparks from scraping metal as the
> train derailed enough to ignite the oil? Not
> being a industry expert, it seems to me that oil
> should need something more intense to initially
> ignite.

I've seen or know of equipment self-welded together from low speed crashes. Is that enough heat?

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, making him whole is not good enough? How
> much more than whole should he be made?
>
> In cases of injury or death, monetary issues are
> much less clear, but in a case with a supposed
> minor injury, property destruction and some
> compensation for the inconvenience and additional
> expenses associated with acquiring a new home and
> property, I don't see the issue here. If he
> lived in a dump and had crappy furniture, he may
> be better off with all of the new stuff CSX will
> buy him. How much more greedy should he and the
> lawyers be?

Sums up my thoughts exactly. The combination of greed and lawyers has ruined just about everything in this country it seems like. Wonder why so many things you used to be able to do you can't any more? Wonder why there's a warning label for every stupid thing imaginable? Wonder why products and services cost more than they should (health care being the biggest example)? Fear of ruinous lawsuits (and the resulting cost of insurance) is your answer...

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, making him whole is not good enough? How
> much more than whole should he be made?
>
> In cases of injury or death, monetary issues are
> much less clear, but in a case with a supposed
> minor injury, property destruction and some
> compensation for the inconvenience and additional
> expenses associated with acquiring a new home and
> property, I don't see the issue here. If he
> lived in a dump and had crappy furniture, he may
> be better off with all of the new stuff CSX will
> buy him. How much more greedy should he and the
> lawyers be?

Wheres the like button, And thats why we have the sue happy system of today. Don't replace what I actually had give me everything I ever wanted. Entitlement at work. SMDH I guess the days of being a honest man and good as your word or handshake are over.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/15 07:40 by esprrfan.

From what I understand, that particular crude reportedly has volatile gas in it too. So it will ignite more readily from a spark than just oil. Anyone want to clarify or correct me on that? Are we talking ignitable fumes here too?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/15 08:54 by wabash2800.

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, making him whole is not good enough? How
> much more than whole should he be made?
>
> In cases of injury or death, monetary issues are
> much less clear, but in a case with a supposed
> minor injury, property destruction and some
> compensation for the inconvenience and additional
> expenses associated with acquiring a new home and
> property, I don't see the issue here. If he
> lived in a dump and had crappy furniture, he may
> be better off with all of the new stuff CSX will
> buy him. How much more greedy should he and the
> lawyers be?

He needs a lawyer to make sure he's actually *made* whole by any agreement. You can be sure CSX has lawyers representing their interests here; why do you suggest he shouldn't be entitled to have an expert representing his, too?

And seriously, you're suggesting that he probably lived in a dump and is "better off" having his entire home destroyed?

mab Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> P Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So, making him whole is not good enough? How
> > much more than whole should he be made?
> >
> > In cases of injury or death, monetary issues
> are
> > much less clear, but in a case with a supposed
> > minor injury, property destruction and some
> > compensation for the inconvenience and
> additional
> > expenses associated with acquiring a new home
> and
> > property, I don't see the issue here. If he
> > lived in a dump and had crappy furniture, he
> may
> > be better off with all of the new stuff CSX
> will
> > buy him. How much more greedy should he and
> the
> > lawyers be?
>
> He needs a lawyer to make sure he's actually
> *made* whole by any agreement. You can be sure CSX
> has lawyers representing their interests here; why
> do you suggest he shouldn't be entitled to have an
> expert representing his, too?
>
> And seriously, you're suggesting that he probably
> lived in a dump and is "better off" having his
> entire home destroyed?
If the man can obtain an Honest Lawyer; however with all the court costs involved and the big chunk of money that goes to today's lawyers, the man might make out much better settling out of court. Trust me; as others have already said, this business of going to court for everything today is what is wrong with our country. We are PAYING dearly for this, each and every one of us, make no mistake about it.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From what I understand, that particular crude
> reportedly has volatile gas in it too. So it will
> ignite more readily from a spark than a just oil.
> Anyone want to clarify or correct me on that? Are
> we talking ignitable fumes here too?


Victor, you are correct about volatile gasses in this crude oil. See attached link for an interesting piece of info about that.

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20140305/oil-train-made-riskier-producers-deliberately-leaving-volatile-gases-crude-0

....anyone notice that he is glad things happened the way they did so as not to harm more people?

He is the definition of humility. He is alive and so are the folks up the way, his possessions can be replaced by his own insurance or CSX, lives however cannot.

Why the almighty dollar takes precedence over life in any discussion is beyond me.

Posted from Android

Sometimes injuries or illnesses appear after a person signs off. No one should ever hastily sign off.

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, making him whole is not good enough? How
> much more than whole should he be made?
>
> In cases of injury or death, monetary issues are
> much less clear, but in a case with a supposed
> minor injury, property destruction and some
> compensation for the inconvenience and additional
> expenses associated with acquiring a new home and
> property, I don't see the issue here. If he
> lived in a dump and had crappy furniture, he may
> be better off with all of the new stuff CSX will
> buy him. How much more greedy should he and the
> lawyers be?

>
> > He needs a lawyer to make sure he's actually
> > *made* whole by any agreement. You can be sure
> CSX
> > has lawyers representing their interests here;
> why
> > do you suggest he shouldn't be entitled to have
> an
> > expert representing his, too?
> >
> > And seriously, you're suggesting that he
> probably
> > lived in a dump and is "better off" having his
> > entire home destroyed?
> If the man can obtain an Honest Lawyer; however
> with all the court costs involved and the big
> chunk of money that goes to today's lawyers, the
> man might make out much better settling out of
> court. Trust me; as others have already said,
> this business of going to court for everything
> today is what is wrong with our country. We are
> PAYING dearly for this, each and every one of us,
> make no mistake about it.

Being represented by a lawyer does not mean going to court. Very few legal disputes or negotiations end up in court, and having competent representation early on is one way to ensure this.

I'm frankly amazed by the people suggesting that this guy, who seems to be the model of someone with a healthy perspective, somehow won the lottery by having his home destroyed by a this accident. No one wants all their possessions destroyed, and anyone who has that happen needs a lawyer to help sort out what is at best, a very complicated damages calculation.

The really distressing news came out today. The particular tank cars involved were the new, sturdier design and not the DOT 111a that has been much maligned. The clear suggestion is that the new standard is not tough enough. We will have to wait for the FRA report on the derailment to know what happened.

drsilverstreak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The really distressing news came out today. The
> particular tank cars involved were the new,
> sturdier design and not the DOT 111a that has been
> much maligned. The clear suggestion is that the
> new standard is not tough enough.

Slow them down.

ts1457 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Slow them down.

Do we know yet what speed the train was traveling?

I doubt a design can be made that will withstand that kind of impact and still be cost effective. This many be another thing that will make U.S. oil production uncompetitive in the international market unless we go with more pipelines (and I'm not referring to the Keystone Project).

drsilverstreak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The really distressing news came out today. The
> particular tank cars involved were the new,
> sturdier design and not the DOT 111a that has been
> much maligned. The clear suggestion is that the
> new standard is not tough enough. We will have to
> wait for the FRA report on the derailment to know
> what happened.

P Wrote:

How much more greedy should he and the lawyers be?
-----------------------------------------------------------

That's easy: Just as obscenely greedy as the railroads are to try to sucker people with low-ball settlement offers. Just as greedy as RR's (and oil companies by extension) are for hauling this stuff when they know full well its potential for harm, esp. after so many destructive explosions. How smart do you have to be to take a deep breath, pause, and say, 'Wait a minute, let's figure this out before we blow anything else up'? No, they only change when they're forced to, and it will always be this way.

Yes, he and the lawyers should be just as greedy as the corporations are in this country. Nobody can match the breathless ease with which they rip people off and dump workers to support the greed of directors, officials and investors. In fact, one could say they're teaching the rest of us how to do it. Merely greed feeding on itself in my book.....

JG



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/15 13:00 by jgilmore.