DC Metro Accident Injury Lawsuits

The DC Metro system, or the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is a public transit system that is funded by the governments of Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. The third largest transit system in the U.S. includes the Metrorail system of rapid transit trains that travel on and below ground, and the Metrobus system. The approximately 700,000 daily patrons are protected by the Metro Transit Police.

There are millions of residents in the D.C. Metropolitan area that rely on the Metro for transportation to work, school and other daily activities. Although it has been criticized for several safety issues, the majority of the time, the system runs smoothly allowing passengers to go where they need to go safely. However, accidents and incidents do occur in the Metro system caused by derailments, crashes and electrical problems. Passengers can suffer personal injuries and there have been fatalities.

In January 2015, there was a smoke incident that stopped Metro train No. 302, which carried 380 passengers in a tunnel near L’Enfant Plaza, which resulted in the death of one passenger and dozens of injuries to other passengers. While the accident investigation is still ongoing, 87 of the passengers have filed lawsuits against WMATA and the family of the passenger who died has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

On March 16, 2016, the entire Metrorail system was shut down for 29 hours after some underground cables caught fire earlier that week. It was the smoke from a similar fire that caused the incident in L’Enfant Plaza in 2015. The Metro system conducted a thorough inspection of the electrical system on some 118 miles of track. In a story in Wired magazine, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedfeld said, “It’s happened twice in a year. I can’t wait for a third time.” Making safety a priority, he said, “sometimes means making tough, unpopular decisions.”

Some of the causes of Metrorail accidents have included:

• Electrical fires
• Excessive speed
• Train operator fatigue
• Malfunctioning switching equipment
• Metrobus accidents

Accidents also occur within the Metrobus system, which transports hundreds of thousands of people throughout the Metropolitan area each day. Bus accidents can be caused by a variety of factors such as:

• Speeding
• Changing lanes without signaling
• Drunk bus driver
• Bus driver falling asleep at the wheel
• Dangerous weather conditions

Passengers who are injured while riding the Metrorail or Metrobus may be able to take legal action against WMATA, which has a responsibility to provide a safe environment for the passengers and patrons that use the system each day. It is important that you work with an experienced, Washington, D.C. personal injury attorney who has experience dealing with WMATA, which conducts its own accident investigations.