Railroad Employee Claims Radio Malfunction Caused Train Collision

A man has filed a personal injury suit against BNSF Railway Company, claiming he suffered injuries when the train on which he was working collided with other rail cars.

According to the suit he filed on March 18 in Texas’ Jefferson County District Court, Stephen Moore was working for the company when the December 16 collision occurred, resulting in back, neck, head, arm, and hip injuries.

The suit claims the collision was caused by a malfunction on the lead locomotive’s radio. The radio is required to be used between two employees when trains, cars, locomotives, or other equipment on the track are being pushed or backed.

The suit says the employee directing the movement is required to specify the distance of the movement and the movement is required to stop halfway through the move unless there are additional instructions given.

However, says the suit, if the radio is not functioning or the directions are not understood, movements are required to be stopped until the misunderstanding has been cleared up or radio communication has been restored.

Moore says that the train should not have been moving when the incident occurred because the radio was not properly functioning at the time.

Moore claims the incident caused him to experience great physical and mental pain, suffering, and anguish, a loss of wages, benefits, and earning capacity, medical costs, and physical impairment.

Moore seeks damages within the court’s jurisdictional limits.