Railroad essay

At approximately 7:50 p.m., bells at the train station rang and red lights flashed, signaling an express train’s approach. David Harris walked onto the tracks, ignoring a yellow line painted on the platform instructing people to stand back. Two men shouted to Harris, warning him to get off the tracks. The train’s engineer saw him too late to stop the train, which was traveling at approximately 66 mph. The train struck and killed Harris as it passed through the station. Harris’s widow sued the railroad, arguing that the railroad’s negligence caused her husband’s death. Evaluate the widow’s argument.

There are federal laws that each railroad station in every state must abide by. These laws were put in place not only for the safety of the trains and the train crew but also for pedestrians that may come in contact with the trains or the tracks themselves. “Trespassing along railroad rights- of-way is the leading cause of rail-related deaths in America” (Department of Transportation,
n.d). this paper will include my opinion about the scenario presented in class. In the scenario,
Mr. Harris walked onto the railroad tracks ignoring the bells, flashing lights and the other bystanders that were shouting at him to get off the tracks. As a result, Mr. Harris is hit by the train because the engineer saw him too late to stop the train. Mr. Harris’s wife feels as that she should be able to sue the railroad for neglect. In my opinion, I think that the wife should be able to sue for negligence. Yes there where precautions but not all of the proper ones. There where the lights and bells, there also was the yellow lines instructing you to stand back. But the train is supposed to blow is horn in a certain way to warn people of its approach. In this scenario, it does not say that the train did that. Yes there were precautions set up but by federal law the train has to give a warning whistle that it is coming into the station even if it is not going to stop. And with the train failing to do so yes it is neglect on their part, Mr. Harris could have been preoccupied with work or with anything else going on in his life to realize that he walked off of the platform. So in the end she has a case for negligence in my opinion.