Norfolk Southern Railroad Lawsuit
East Palestine, Ohio Railway Accident Attorneys
Our law firm represents people suing Norfolk Southern Railroad for damages. Contact us for a free legal consultation regarding a potential lawsuit against Norfolk Southern over the company’s freight train derailment on February 3, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. This accident was preventable, but worse, the disaster mitigation response to breach tankers and release vinyl chloride and other toxic contents, and then set fire to them, created enormous chemical clouds that threaten to poison the Ohio River Valley and other areas north and east.
The Train was on Fire for 30 Minutes prior to Derailing in East Palestine
Video shows the Norfolk Southern train was on fire, or sparking, for at least 30 minutes before the train derailed in East Palestine. Rail track sensors designed to detect hotboxes or fires to prevent the kind of accident that occurred in Ohio appear to have failed, or not been in place. Previous safeguards, involving observing the cars from the caboose, had recently been abandoned to save on costs. Consequently, the engineers were unaware that there were cars on fire, so they took no action to correct the problem, until it was too late. Those hotbox fires led to derailment, at the expense of the health and safety of the people of East Palestine, Ohio and surrounding areas.
We may file or settle a claim individually or as part of a group on a case-by-case basis.
Whether your claim is filed individually or as part of a group fighting the same defendant, our goal is always to provide each of our clients with individual attention.
Free Legal Consultation
Our attorneys stand ready to assist those in the Ohio River Valley and elsewhere whose lives, homes, families, children, livestock, land and pets have been harmed by the foreseeable train derailment that occurred in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3, 2023. Please call (888) 923-7001 or email us for a free, no-obligation consultation regarding a potential lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railroad.
Twenty of the train cars in the mile-long train contained hazardous materials. A fire erupted that led to a decision to burn vinyl chloride and other chemicals inside five of the tankers. The toxic chemicals inside those cars were ignited in what officials called a “controlled burn,” but that burn unleashed a giant plume of carcinogenic chemicals that included hydrogen chloride, phosgene, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl. Worse, incredibly toxic dioxins were created and released by the burning of the chlorinated chemicals in the cars.
People and their property, livestock, and pets in Pennsylvania, New York, and elsewhere in the eastern and southern U.S. downwind from the burn may also be affected. The fallout could also impact others in the middle and south central parts of North America, including parts of Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri. Water, crops and livestock could be harmed by the resulting dioxin fallout. Historically, we know dioxin contamination made New York’s Love Canal and the town of Times Beach, Missouri uninhabitable.
“Norfolk Southern must be held accountable,” said Attorney Conrad Adams, who has represented plaintiffs in railroad litigation for several years. “It has once again endangered the health of individuals who live in our communities and contaminated the water and land that we depend upon. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of negligent behavior, and Norfolk Southern must be judged by a jury of our peers.”
Conrad Adams and the attorneys at Matthews & Associates have already represented plaintiffs in several lawsuits against Norfolk Southern, and have years of experience in holding large companies responsible for the damages and injuries their negligence has caused.
Dead Fish and Birds
Thousands of fish have already been found dead in creeks and streams, while backyard chickens have been killed by the fallout ten miles north of East Palestine in Lima, Ohio. Meanwhile, thousands of people were forced to flee their homes while receiving contradictory messages from the U.S. EPA and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine regarding whether it was safe to return. Several returning local residents report being greeted by government officials in full Hazmat gear telling them it is safe to return to their homes.
Full Damage Extent Unknown
We won’t know the full extent of damage and destruction for some time, but we know that toxic clouds full of dangerous dioxins and other chemicals covered East Palestine, and floated east and north with the prevailing winds toward Pennsylvania and New York. Meanwhile, the water poisoned by chemicals released in the accident and clean-up attempts then floated down the Ohio River, and into the Mississippi River. Food grown from contaminated soil in surrounding farmland, including many nearby Amish farms, could be poisoned for years, and people, farm animals, pets, and wildlife may see illness or other effects from exposure to the toxins in the months and years to come.
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Why Choose Our Law Firm for Help? Experience.
Attorney David P. Matthews has been pursuing legal action against some of the largest corporations in the world for more than 30 years. He has decades of experience in guiding litigation against major multi-national companies through the courts, and getting justice for people who were injured, through no fault of their own, by cost and safety short-cuts. Our law firm is already engaged in litigation against Norfolk Southern Railroad, and previously represented railroad workers in several lawsuits. We also represent many people victimized in the catastrophic Dixie Fires in California.
Matthews & Associates law firm has represented thousands of claimants in lawsuits against multi-national corporations, including:
- Norfolk Southern Railroad
- Monsanto
- Bayer
- Pfizer
- General Electric
- General Motors
- Johnson & Johnson
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- The Roman Catholic Church
- Boy Scouts of America
- Chevron
- Exxon Mobil
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Free Legal Consultation
Our attorneys stand ready to assist those in the Ohio River Valley and elsewhere whose lives, homes, families, children, livestock, land and pets have been harmed by the foreseeable train derailment that occurred in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3, 2023.
Please call (888) 923-7001 or email us for a free, no-obligation consultation regarding a potential lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railroad.